Sport during the COVID-19 pandemic: reflections from the 5 E's Analytical Model

The pandemic brought changes in various human spaces and activities, including sport. By involving voluminous financial sums, especially when we think about the sport spectacles of the main leagues on the planet, sport seems to us to have been the most "trivial" of the activities seeking to resist the changes in biological and economic risk that characterized the pandemic, with elite sports, although many disagreed, practically surviving as an essential activity. However, to surpass such obstacles, changes and adaptations proved necessary. In this essay, we use the proposal Analytical Model of the 5 E's to understand, from a comprehensive perspective of the proposed dimensions, what were the main changes that affected sport in a historical moment in which health and disease have taken center stage in our lives. We noticed changes in sports consumption, supply and demand relationships, behavioral and emotional changes in athletes and spectators, as well as health issues. Sport, as a "non-essential" activity, adapted itself to the new "normal," driven mercantile and spectacularization mechanisms.

Two paradoxes of sports activities in the COVID-19 era: a diagnosis from the philosophy of sport

We argue that sporting activities -as both individual and collective practices, as well as massive entertainment - acquired a paradoxical dimension during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the sanitary risk of infection associated with them. Here, we present two of these paradoxes: the first one is called "sport's social paradox" and the second one is called "sport's sanitary paradox". Before the pandemic, the social and sanitary benefits of sport were undisputable, but this has changed radically, even threatening the main elements upon which sports activities used to be based. By examining these paradoxes and appealing to recent empirical studies, we propose some strategies to secure a safe return to sporting practices in future pandemic and post pandemic contexts.

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.

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.

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

A number of recent Managing Sport and Leisure commentaries have explored how COVID-19 is touching sport. Our commentary adds to these discussions by considering COVID-19, lockdown and (disability) sport. This is especially pertinent given the positioning of disabled people as particularly "vulnerable" in relation to current political discourse. Four key points of discussion are focused upon. First, the researchers explore how the media has attended to issues concerning (disability) sport during lockdown. Second, consideration is given to how sporting and physical activity opportunities have been promoted during lockdown. Third, the researchers focus on the notion of inclusion and explore the ways in which this has thrived during lockdown. Fourth, attention is given to community (disability) sport post-lockdown and what this may mean for disability sport. The researchers conclude by arguing that the future legacy of lockdown and COVID-19 will tell us much about how disabled people have really been embraced within sport.