'Why now' for AFLW? Providing a new affirmative narrative for women's football in the post-COVID world

As with many other male-dominated sports, for over a century of its history, Australian Rules Football organizations resisted and undermined women's participation in the game. The first league for women footballers commenced in Victoria in 1981. Since then, the growth in women's participation has been substantial, and in 2017, a professional women's Australian Football League (AFLW) commenced. The next phase of the participation of women in football is approaching, and heralds an opportunity for women to (re)gain power within the sport. In October 2019, thirty percent of women players rejected the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement from the Australian Football League (AFL), with the underlying sentiment of wanting a stronger voice in the vision for the future of their game. This paper examines how changing participation rates in community football can transform the narrative of women's football from one of subsidized welfare to women players being necessary for the survival of football.

The impact of the pandemic on sports companies: comparative rate analysis of champions league and Turkish football companies

Today, when sports have become a very important sector for the economy, football, which is one of the favorite elements of the sports sector, has a very large financial position among other sports branches. Many different organizations such as UEFA also contributed to this position. In this study, the effect of the Covid-19 epidemic, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, on football clubs was analyzed through the financial statements of football clubs. In the research, the ratio analysis method was applied through the financial statements of the three football clubs in the category of UEFA champions league leaders as of 5 May 2021 and the football companies traded in the BIST for the periods 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. As a result, it has been revealed that all clubs were affected negatively compared to the pre-pandemic period, but the three clubs, which are UEFA leaders, were less affected by the negative effects of the pandemic due to their strong financial resources and sporting successes. In the evaluation of the research, it has been revealed that Besiktas is the club with the best debt-paying power among the clubs in Turkey. It was evaluated that the net working capital of the other three clubs was negative. It is understood that the three clubs, which are the ranking leaders in 2021, have strong financial positions that do not differ much from each other. It is another result that the solvency and resource structures of Turkish football clubs and UEFA ranking leaders are far from each other. This situation is generally;It can be attributed to sportive success, the difference in the income balance and the increase in the exchange rate in our country.

Trends in recreational walking trail usage in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for practice. (Special Issue: Covid-19 and outdoor recreation.)

Despite its potential utility for the outdoor recreation sector, there is no centralised surveillance system for recreational walking trails in Ireland and thus trail usage in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown. This paper aims to report trends in football count data on Irish trails during the COVID-19 period and to triangulate findings with openly available mobility data. This descriptive study analysed changes in footfall counts gathered from passive infrared sensors on 33 of Ireland's recreational walking trails between January 2019 and December 2020. The relationship between Google Community Mobility Report (GCMR) data and footfall counts was analysed to corroborate trends in footfall data. Total footfall increased by 6% between 2019 and 2020 on trails included in this analysis. Notably, mean trail usage was between 26% and 47% higher in October-December 2020 than during the same period in 2019. A strong correlation between GCMR data from 'parks' and footfall count data was found. The conclusions of this study are twofold. Firstly, the COVID-19 pandemic increased trail usage in Ireland, especially on trails closer to urban areas and there is potential for this to be a lasting legacy. Secondly, combining multiple data sources can provide trail managers with more detailed representations of trail usage and currently these are not harmonised. Future research should examine ways to encourage sustained recreational walking trail use in new users and implement novel ways to coordinate datasets across systems to monitor visitors on Irish recreational walking trails.

Effects of application of sports management during the pandemic COVID-19 to international top sports clubs football and ultimate fight championship

Review paper Effects of Application of Sports Management during Pandemic COVID-19to International Top Sports Football Club and Ultimate Fight Championship, based on the latest studies, relates to performance of structure of management of sport organizations during pandemic of COVID-19. Organizing sport competitions, tournaments, matches and trainings at this period of time, was considered as a great challenge, especially for the clubs which compete on international level. Additional challenge for sport organizations was compliance with epidemic measures dictated by WHO (World Health Organization). Focus analysis was related to organizing sport contents and responds to business and sports activities to pandemic of COVID-19 of international top-level sport football clubs, league of "five" and clubs of Ultimate Fight Championship. Analysis included of football clubs: F.C. Barcelona, F.C. Manchester United, AC Milan, F.C. Bayern M..nchen and F.C. Borussia Dortmund in relation to UFC teams: Straight Blast Gym Ireland, American Kick-box Academy (AKA), Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts, American Top Team (ATT) of football and ultimate fight championship, during pandemic. Clubs, selected by method of random subject, based on sport results achieved on national levels of competition and four criteria were used, from domain of review papers, by PRISM methodology 1: all sources of data (magazines, published papers etc) in English;2. Period of organization of sport competitions and football matches during the pandemic of COVID-19;3. Evident differences, which occurred during pandemic COVID-19;4. Published papers are focused on business and organizational form. There is significant difference in obtained financial effects and different innovative solutions, which can be used as new experiences in further studies, were offered.

Operational crisis communication management: a content analysis of FIFA's communication during Covid-19

Despite the high number of crises encountered within sport, crisis communication management in sport remains understudied. Operational crisis communication in particular can be considered an uncharted territory, regardless of its potential significant effects on sport organisations' reputation. In this study we explore the themes used in FIFA's communication during the Covid-19 pandemic, to understand how operational organisational crisis communication was managed by football's leading sport organisation in this unprecedented climate. Content analysis is conducted in all FIFA's press releases and Twitter messages related to Covid-19 from March 5th to July 3rd 2020, in order for insights to be offered to the content and meaning of FIFA's operational crisis communication, their attempts to emphasise the organisation's positive traits and actions, and the links built with managing and improving the organisation's reputation. The analysis of the themes used indicates that proactive planning of crisis communication management had been conducted, while lessons from previous handling of crises appear to have been learned. By outlining the crisis communication strategy adopted by FIFA, we offer insights to the unexplored area of operational crisis communication in sports, while presenting a roadmap for operational crisis communication management for other sport organisations and future studies exploring the topic. HIGHLIGHTS The study highlights the main themes used by FIFA, focusing on positive traits of the organisation. FIFA's crisis communication management deviates from pre-prescribed recommendations.A roadmap for operational crisis communication management for sport organisations is offered.

An effective distraction? Fantasy football during the times of COVID-19

The popularity of fantasy sports has increased exponentially over the last few decades. The existing literature has predominantly focused on the negative effects of fantasy football (or, fantasy sports in general) on mental health because of its association with gambling and internet addictions. Using primary data collected through online surveys, this study attempts to examine the role of fantasy football within a completely new context by asking whether it acted as an effective distraction for the fantasy football managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 70% of the participants consider fantasy football to be an effective escape from day-to-day activities. Approximately two-thirds of the managers in our sample report that they were negatively affected by the suspension of fantasy football at the advent of COVID-19. Once resumed, fantasy football helped mitigate some of the negative emotions caused by COVID-19 and it worked as a distraction for 78.5% of the managers during the pandemic. The statistical analysis indicates that though the role of fantasy football as a distraction was evident across all age groups the effect was more acute in case of the highly involved managers (defined by, level of competitiveness and time invested in the game during weekends).

Encouraging togetherness during a national lockdown: the influence of relationship-oriented personal-disclosure mutual-sharing on team functioning in academy soccer coaches

The present study examined the influence of an online relationship-oriented personal-disclosure mutual-sharing (ROPDMS) intervention upon diverse measures of group functioning during a national lockdown. Twelve soccer coaches and one senior member of staff from a professional female soccer academy participated by openly disclosing and sharing unknown personal stories with one another. Social identity dimensions (in-group ties, cognitive centrality, and in-group affect), friendship identity content, social support, self-esteem, and a nonequivalent dependent variable were measured across four time points, while social validation was obtained immediately and 4 weeks after ROPDMS. Quantitative data revealed significant increases for in-group ties, cognitive centrality, and friendship identity content after ROPDMS, while the nonequivalent dependent variable did not significantly change. Qualitative data revealed that the coaching staff felt the session was worthwhile and enhanced aspects of team functioning. Online ROPDMS therefore appears to be a viable team-building method for practitioners seeking to strengthen social identity dimensions and friendship identity content during a national lockdown.

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic: insights into effective training strategies for physical development in football

Professional soccer players typically perform regular training sessions and match play for most of the yearly macrocycle with limited time focused on solely developing physical development. The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 caused mass disruption to professional soccer but provided an opportunity for an alternative approach to training in attempt to develop professional soccer players physical fitness levels. In a non-randomised and non-controlled study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of a 13-week remote based physical training programme on physical fitness levels in elite professional soccer players from Scottish Premier League club. Twenty professional soccer players undertook body composition assessments, a countermovement jump (CMJ) test, eccentric hamstring strength test and a submaximal 30-15 intermittent fitness test (IFT) pre- and post-remote based training programme. Body mass (79.3 +or- 6.7 vs. 80.0 +or- 7.3 kg), skinfold thickness (54.1 +or- 14.8 vs. 56.7 +or- 15.2 mm), maximum CMJ height (38.4 +or- 3.4 vs. 40.9 +or- 4.1 cm), eccentric hamstring strength (1035 +or- 158 vs. 1009 +or- 140 n) and percentage max heart rate reached in submaximal 30-15 IFT (81.3 +or- 5.2 vs. 82.3 +or- 7.3%) were maintained (all P > 0.05) from pre- to post training programme, respectively. Although team-based soccer specific training load was removed, and the training programmes prescribed had an increased physical focus, fitness levels were maintained. This suggests that alternative modes of training can potentially be used in instances where team-based soccer specific training load isn't required or is unavailable, without negatively impacting physical development.

Football tourism: a systematic literature review

Objective of the study: to investigate the scientific production on football tourism literature, developing an overview of academic research related to the theme. Methodology/approach: systematic review of the literature, with a qualitative approach and exploratory-descriptive nature. Thus, after searching three databases, 16 articles published between the years 2015 and 2020 were selected. Originality/Relevance: despite football tourism having gained notoriety in recent years, both in the scope of scientific publications and in the increase in travel motivated by football interest, the analysis of theoretical and methodological advances emerges as unprecedented and indispensable. Main results: thus, it was noticed that these studies seek to analyze the profile and behavior of visitors, the motivations of displacements, the services offered by the tours, the impacts caused by sports mega-events and Covid-19. With regard to methodology, it was found a balance between qualitative and quantitative approaches, and a lower percentage (12.5%) of research using mixed methods. In this case, as a highlight of qualitative studies, ethnographic research in the field of football tourism stands out. While in quantitative approaches, there is an innovation in the way of analyzing data, with the use of Monte Carlo methods and unconditional quantile regression, in addition to the confirmatory factor analysis and the social accounting matrices. Theoretical/methodological contributions: from an analysis of the theoretical and methodological contributions of these articles, a synthesis was elaborated to report how such studies address the displacement of fans and the tourist attractiveness of stadiums, as well as the methodological procedures applied in the research.

Process assessment of fencer's parents within the scope of the COVID-19 normalization steps

The objective of this study is to measure and construe the opinions of the parents of athletes who are actively participating in competitions in our country and who are licensed by the Turkish Fencing Federation for the 2019-2020 season, regarding the organizations to be planned and the issues to be paid attention, within the scope of the Covid-19 normalization steps. The study group comprises 410 parents in total who take place on the list of licensed athlete parents of the Turkish Fencing Federation in 2019-2020. An online data collection form was used as a data collection tool in this study, which was structured through the qualitative research method. The survey form, which was drawn up by the researcher by taking expert opinion, consisting of a total of nine questions, and devised to learn the opinions of the participants on the subject matter of the study, includes multiple-choice and open-ended question types. In this study conducted in collaboration with the Turkish Fencing Federation, the respondents answered the questionnaire online via the website of the respective federation and took part in the study voluntarily. Consent regarding the study was presented in the "Remarks'' section of the form to the participants for approval. In the analysis process of the data obtained, the data analysis program called MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2018 (Release 18.2.4) (Professional Data Analysis Software for Qualitative and Mixed Methods) was used. While closed-ended questions were summarized by indicating percentages, the content analysis method was used in the process of analyzing open-ended question and answer reports. The data obtained were visualized with the help of frequency tables and code maps. Finally, some of the opinions of the participants, which were coded, were directly conveyed by interpreting the findings obtained through the tables and code maps. For this study, an approval was received from the Ethics Committee for Non-Invasive Clinical Research of the School of Sport Sciences of Seljuk University. It was determined as a result of the study that the Covid-19 pandemic that poses impacts on the entire world affects the attitudes of parents of athletes to participate in organizations. In the activities planned to be organized, the sub-codes like attending without an audience, open-air competitions, provision of spaciousness and ventilation means in the selection of a competition hall, and risk approval notification are classified. In addition, arrangements for the priorities of the parents of athletes in the organizations to be held within the scope of the Covid-19 normalization steps of the respective federation were ensured by presenting the Turkish Fencing Federation with the report drawn up as a result of the study.

Study of the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic in the football industry

The outbreak of the corona virus has had a significant impact on the economic situation of sport, and professional football has not been immune to these effects. This article discusses the main effects of this crisis on professional football. To conduct this research, 32 research articles published in 2020 in the list of authoritative publications of the Ministry of Science and Google Scholar database related to the research topic were reviewed. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results of this analysis indicate 13 categories of effects of this virus in football. These effects were collected in two main categories. The first category includes the negative effects of corona on football, including the effects of corona on players, referees, the right to television broadcasting of clubs and football clubs, and the importance of fans and the impact of empty stadiums on club economies and corona financial losses on football. The next category is the positive effects of the corona virus in football, which also includes the readiness of the clubs, the positive effects of the corona virus on the referees, the environment, the low probability of harm to spectators, innovation, increasing solidarity and entrepreneurship. The study also briefly discusses the effects of the Corona virus on Iranian football.

Incidence and risk of sports injuries in registered athletes in Mazandaran province;reports of the years before and after COVID- 19 pandemic

Background and purpose: World condition has changed since the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged and its rapid spread affected people's social and sports life. In this study, we aimed at investigating the incidence of sports injuries in Mazandaran province, Iran and the effects of COVID- 19 pandemic on frequency of sports injuries. We also studied the relationship between sports injuries and age, gender, sports specialties and severity of injury. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, information of all/injured athletes registered in Mazandaran Sport Medicine Center between 2018 and 2020 were analyzed in SPSS V23. In order to investigate the relationship between injured limb and age, gender, sports specialty, injured side, and surgery, Chi-square test was applied.

Anxiety of caught new type Coronavirus (COVID-19) in professional soccer players

The aim of this study was to investigate the anxiety of catching a new type of coranavirus (Covid-19) in professional soccer players. soccer players 188 including 42 professional soccer players from the Turkish Super League, 32 players from the TFF 1st League, 41 players from the 2nd League, and 73 players from the 3rd League were voluntarily participated in this study . Average age of the players is 25.04 +or- 4.831 years;average height of the players is 180.11 +or- 6.246 cm;average body weight of the players is 75.23 +or- 6.118 kg,;average sports age of the players is 12.82 +or- 4.256 years. In this study evaluating the anxiety of professional soccer players about catching Covid-19, the level of anxiety of soccer players about getting Covid-19 was compared according to the status of being caught and not caught, the leagues they played and their game positions. No significant difference was found in the cases of the soccer players catching or not getting Covid-19. The change between the leagues in which the players play does not make any sense. When the anxiety of catching Covid-19 was examined according to the playing positions, a statistical significance was found in the comparison of the social anxiety scores according to the positions played by the players. In conclusion, while there was no significant relationship between the soccer players catching and not getting Covid-19, and their anxiety about catching Covid-19 for the leagues they played, the anxiety levels of catching Covid-19 were statistically significant to the game positions.

Dört Büyük Futbol Kulübünün ve Taraftarlarının Twitter’daki Covid-19 Paylaşımlarının Netnografik Analizi

Covid-19, which first appeared in Wuhan, China, and caused the death of many people, caused the structures within the sports industry to change as well as in all industries. In this period, sports organizations try to use social media tools effectively in order to stay in touch with their fans. Purpose of this research is to analyze the post of the most followed clubs and their fans on Twitter about Covid-19 in the Turkish Football Federation Super League. The study, a total of 2,971 hashtags related to Covid-19 were analyzed. The number of posts and percentages of tweets by fans and football clubs about Covid-19 was also included in the analysis. In this way, the contents of the Twitter posts of both fans and football clubs regarding Covid-19 were determined. The netnography method was used as the working method. The hashtags performed by the fans on Twitter were analyzed by the content analysis method. According to the findings, Fenerbah..e SK and its followers have become the football club that produced the most content (80.46%) regarding the Covid-19 outbreak. Although Galatasaray SC fans have produced the most hashtags, Galatasaray SK (16.5%) has produced the least amount of content about the epidemic. As a result, in the period of the Covid-19 epidemic, while it is seen that football fans unite in a common culture by posting similar hashtags about the Covid-19 epidemic on Twitter, it is seen that football clubs post less place to content related to the epidemic less than fan groups.

COVID-19 and the solidification of media's power in football. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

This commentary offers a short analysis of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the relationship between football, and in particular the English Premier League, and the media. The commentary focuses on the symbiotic yet antagonistic relationship between the two over the years, and the potential shift in the power balance that can be expected due to the banning of live audiences from stadia because of COVID-19. As it is discussed, COVID-19 and the banning of matchday audiences could have possibly solidified media's power in football, making it the only means through which live football can reach its fans. This commentary raises attention on the evolvement of the relationship between media and football, while inviting further discussion on what the future holds once fans are allowed back in stadia.

COVID-19, networks and sport. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

This commentary serves to provide a rapid analysis of the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on sporting mass gatherings. The focus of this commentary surrounds sporting mass gatherings and strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, with a particular focus on the UEFA EURO 2020 competition. Further references to the 2020 Olympic Games, and community recreational football are made. The intention is to stimulate discussion, analysis, interest and research on what the initial impact of COVID-19 has on sport. COVID-19 could fundamentally change the way sport operates in the future and requires further analysis. We hope this commentary provides an interesting record and reference point for future research and practice of those operating in sporting organisations. Learning lesson from this crisis, must ensure sport managers and practitioners are better prepared in sport and society for similar events in the future.

The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of professional footballers. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

The Covid-19 pandemic has had huge ramifications on professional football. This commentary focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of professional footballers. Specifically, footballers within the English Premier League, English Football League, FA Women's Super League and FA Women's Championship. This commentary considers a holistic approach to mental health, the environment of professional football, and the impact of career transitions and critical moments on mental health. The intention is to stimulate discussion and further research of mental health and wellbeing within professional football. This paper considers the impact of Covid-19 and makes recommendations for professional football clubs to develop a holistic mental health strategy. We recommend that professional clubs increase the level of emotional support for professional footballers, and that this should not be a temporary measure due to the pandemic. Clubs should develop a long-term strategy to encourage players to seek emotional support.

Football must not forget its inclusive responsibilities in the rush to get fans back into stadiums. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

It is imperative that the English Premier League and the Football League clubs consider disabled supporters when planning for the return of fans in stadiums. While it is understandable that the English football clubs are eager to welcome fans back as soon as possible, I argue this must not be at the expense of disabled supporters. Utilising the theory of ableism, I highlight the inequitable matchday experiences of disabled football fans at the English Premier League and the Football League clubs pre-COVID-19, a situation I argue cannot be exacerbated by neglecting disabled fans as part of the return of fans to stadiums. This commentary emphasises the importance of English football clubs grasping the opportunity to positively change how disabled football fans are treated. The piece concludes by calling for sustained lobbying for inclusion, and the need for future research to focus and explicate the experiences of disabled football fans.

"Will it ever be completely safe to be in a crowd again?": the return of disabled supporters to football stadiums during COVID-19. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

Our aim in this short article is to provide an analysis of the implications of reopening football stadium doors to a group that have not been at the forefront of management consideration - disabled spectators. In order to achieve this aim, we uphold a social model approach to disability to review the current spectator sport situation across English professional football and outline the problems posed for disabled fans. We then provide the context to disabled people's experiences in football fandom which have often been unsatisfactory. This context then underpins a series of implications that will arise from the reopening of stadia in England. To conclude this commentary, we provide several management recommendations that we argue should facilitate a more disability-inclusive restart for spectator sport.

COVID-19: the return of football fans. (Special Issue: Managing sport and leisure in the era of Covid-19.)

COVID-19 has sent a shockwave into society and sport. As result of this, sport and football resuming without spectators - fans or supporters, has brought a number of financial issues that has threatened the sustainability and future of many clubs. This commentary unpicks what has happened and some of the tensions, decision-making and consequences surrounding the return of spectators. The commentary presents the case that spectators are key to the survival of football clubs and that the United Kingdom Government must reverse their decision to not let spectators return. Now more than ever, these words hold substance, meaning and truly matter to clubs and their networked communities, "Football without fans is nothing".