With the return of Lionel Messi and his Barcelona teammates to the training ground, it is pretty clear that Spanish Football Season — La Liga may restart on July 20 after being on hold for three months due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. But, football has changed all over Spain as professional football players and clubs are moving towards the return of football in Spain with the very first uncertain step. Clubs are busy in sterilising, reorganizing and preparing teams for an inundation of staff and practicing social distancing (Two-metre distance that is necessary as Spain is still under the threat of COVID-19) while playing.
A majority of professional footballers around the world whose extraordinary skills we have been missing during the brutal days of coronavirus pandemic will resume and walk around in tiny, confident clusters in groups of four or five. COVID-19 testing is mandated for all while the staff will check their temperature daily. Now, there is a million dollar question that comes up in my mind, because football is a wonderful game that includes physical contact sometimes, then how the clubs will manage to keep it under the coronavirus guidelines? As bigger teams can be trained in different shifts, sitting can be arranged as per the social distancing guidelines but the rules cannot be changed. And there would be, of course, some physical contacts while kicking or defending football.
Besides these efforts the “New Normal” will be complicated as the COVID-19 is still on the head with the potential to become merciless once again in Spain. Training and practicing social distancing is not enough because lockdown has affected players more than losing confidence. And while the death rate linked to this ugly virus has been dropping in Spain, life is back on track. You can manufacture a car, sell clothes or hook up in a restaurant or bar then why should not football restart? So, the question here is – Should La Liga be resumed?
How Would it Restart Amid the Concern of the Second Wave of the Pandemic?
Many health experts have warned for a second wave of the pandemic in Spain and are concerned about the resumption of the virus if professional sports restart. So, the answer right now is no. But in case it changes, then there would be a lot to be focused as the restarting of the football should be premature, dissimilar to Netherland or France, where the earlier seasons of La Liga were organized.
The second concern after determining articulation objections to resumption of football is, whether the teams are themselves ready for the comeback or convinced morally. Football is more than just a paid game. The craze for the game is pretty clear and this is why people are demanding for the resumption of the La Liga. And there has always been a mindset that footballers are treated by clubs, governing bodies, sponsors and broadcasters as if they are serving them. Whether it’s conscious or subconscious, it must be avoided — as it’s the need of the hour more than ever.
Is it Morally Organized or Convinced by the Spondors?
The pandemic has brought some awful scenes between La Liga, Spanish football association and the professional player’s union — a few of which were sent to bed temporarily, but thanks to a summit meeting between the government and two football’s governing bodies. It was a productive meeting bound around the football association and La Liga over the subsequent fortnight. The meeting was held under the leadership of David Aganzo, who has collected some good points and managed to be on the good book since the meeting after drumming up support from sufficient members in professional football clubs around the world.
With such awful sceneries, it seems that Spain’s tentative approach towards resuming La Liga is neither insane nor morally cheerful, it’s quite confusing as we are worried about the human capacity for stupidity. Also, there is a concern about health insurance. Does every professional football player or club has insurance that covers COVID-19 or pandemic protection, this has to be on the mark in case any of their staff or team gets affected or gravely ill during the resumption of the La Liga amid the treat of the second wave of the pandemic, David Aganzo said about comprehensive financial cover as well. We are not clear about this. Probably this can be slowly accounted for, but is it strict across professional football clubs in Spain at this point? Perhaps, it would be.
Despite these accounts, arguments, and meetings, we only have a hope of restarting LA Liga in June. It can only happen if everything goes acceptably well, but can you imagine football being played without an audience? Professional footballers don’t depend on salaries given by clubs, it is the audience who cheers them up. But, it’s entirely different from society’s fight against the pandemic.
And, resumption of La Liga — it seems that sponsors and broadcasters have convinced clubs to restart the season as the companies are undergoing million dollar loss due to postponement of La Liga and many other international series. The pandemic has affected sports so well, as many, including Tokyo Olympics 2020 has been postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak. And resuming the La Liga season amid the threat of coronavirus won’t be a great idea as footballers under contract are obliged to return in case they don’t feel good despite the finest provision and deals offered by their clubs and FA. So, our strong opinion is: No, because the time is extraordinary, and of course, new for all of us. We are 100% sure that the resumption “new normal” of football and other sports won’t be normal at all. It would be complicated to overcome the psychological damage due to lockdown and pandemic.
Read More: List of the Sporting Events Affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic
