The sports industry had impressive global growth over the years, with factors from the introduction of e-sports and new streaming and viewing methods to sponsorships and digital media contributing to its rise. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought upon a rapid change in this sector. Sports' seasons ended abruptly, people`s escape from reality suddenly vanished, their spending attitudes changed, live games and commercial flights were suspended, hotels were impossible to book, and consumers practically turned into prisoners within their own homes. No live sports matches were to follow on any media either, so specialized sports channels were forced to play old recordings rather than broadcasting new events. Even athletes themselves struggle to stay relevant and thus, try to utilize creative methods to enhance their brand value in these difficult times. With most of the sports leagues shut down during the pandemic, with a few exceptions which performed in empty venues, the restrictions diminished the sports experience compared to the pre-COVID-19 era and the impacts were widespread. Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era explores the changes that have been and will continue to be created by the unexpected disruptions that occurred as a result of the pandemic within the sports industry, fans consumption, and recreational habits. The chapters explore the status of sports after the pandemic, paths to recovery, and the future of sports, along with the many impacts and issues that have arisen due to changes in the industry necessitated by COVID-19. Covering important topics such as mental health, impacts on athletes and coaches, the market value for professional sports, consumer behavior during COVID-19, and the changes in marketing, tourism, and business, this book is ideally intended for sports managers, marketers, broadcasting agencies, media specialists, brand managers, fitness professionals, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the impacts on the sports industry and the outlook for sports in the post-COVID-19 era. Chapter 1 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19 Social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on people`s brains and physical fitness. The current dire situation makes it extremely difficult for people to maintain sanity amid the pandemic, with more than 33 million coronavirus cases (as of September 27, 2020), more than a million deaths, and slightly less than eight million currently infected people, of which one percent are seriously or critically ill. During this time, the awareness that physical and mental health go hand in hand is extremely important if a "tsunami" of psychiatric illness is to be avoided. As COVID-19 will probably persist for months, this chapter aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining regular exercise routines for both physical and mental health; it is a warning against a sedentary lifestyle that inevitably leads to muscle loss, a slowing brain, weakened heart and lungs, weight gain, and poor sleep. Chapter 2 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19: The Case of the English Premier League As a result of COVID-19, the UK imposed quarantine restrictions in March 2020. All large gatherings of people were against the law, and the professional league football ceased. In June 2020, the season was allowed to start again but with strict health policies and procedures in place, minimal backroom staff, regulations for goal celebration, and stringent cleansing routines. A significant part of the measures was no supporters at games. Instead, games were televised and broadcast live on a range of channels. This unique situation has raised many questions about the role of football in supporters` lives and the need for the "football fix" in the weekly routine. This chapter focuses on efforts made by football clubs to create an atmosphere and maintain an identity/attachment with their supporters. To do this, the authors combine principles and underlying theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory, and fandom to propose a framework of fan attachment. They apply the framework to the English Premier League to see how all 20 clubs responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity. Chapter 3 The Financial Impact: Will Professional Soccer Return to Its Market Value After the COVID-19 Crisis? Insights and Results From an Empirical Study.. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has impacted many industries such as the professional sports business. Almost all professional sports leagues, events, and championships have been either postponed or canceled. This chapter investigates the challenges of reduced revenue streams due to empty venues and canceled broadcasts on TV and on the internet. Also, the effects on the related merchandising business are addressed. Based on a theoretical analysis and an empirical study, the chapter highlights these direct impacts and sheds light on the indirect effects as well. As the pandemic disconnects sports enthusiasts to a certain extent from the team and/or athletes of their choice, certain behavioral aspects could appear. The results of the study underline that the financial effects in the short-term could almost be balanced; the medium- to long-term effects, however, will decrease the market value and threaten the business model of professional sports. Chapter 4 Downfall of the Sports Industry Due to the Pandemic of COVID-19. The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic that has spread around the worldwide in the last few months has not only had a severe impact on society, public health, and the entire economy; it has also inflicted chaos to the sporting calendar. Due to the pandemic situation, all the sports matches and the leagues that were to be held were postponed to avoid the gatherings of large crowds of spectators. All the sporting organizations have suspended all their activities to avoid the risk factor due to the spread of coronavirus. In this critical situation, the capacity of sports to gather people together is missed very much. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all the people along with the sports life because sports is a place where all types of people meet and gather irrespective of differences. This chapter describes how COVID-19 has impacted sports organizations, clubs, and their supporters. Also, different sports clubs are taking up new strategies, which will be beneficial for the upcoming sporting features, players, and supporters. Chapter 5 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products During the COVID-19 Pandemic.. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives. We have all had to adapt to the so-called "new normality." In the research, the authors focused on checking recent changes in buying habits of consumers purchasing sports and leisure products. They found that the purchasing frequency decreased during the pandemic. An important increase is observed in the use of online stores, and the share of those purchasing sports and leisure products spontaneously has decreased. Consumer buying habits were most negatively affected by government restrictive decrees. As evident from the research, the epidemic has caused significant changes in consumer buying habits, and its impact and changes will become even more visible in the coming period of uncertainty for all, with almost no possibility to influence the changing conditions, only trying to adapt, at least partially, to "the new reality. Chapter 6 The Promotion of an Active Lifestyle After Loosening COVID-19 Measures: Recreation Load Distribution in a Tourism Destination. This chapter focuses on the association between the proximity of a physical environment suitable for recreation and physical activity, which is a public health priority in communities. After the COVID-19 lockdown, tourism destinations experienced an increased number of visitors who showed the need for physical activity. To ensure the health of visitors and promote physical activity, destinations try to provide safe infrastructure and distribute recreation load in time and space by managing visitor flow. With the newly imposed health standards, it is essential to identify overcrowding for eventual visitor management interventions by spatial planning or other regulation; thus, a pilot measurement of recreation load was carried out to compare the differences between weekday and weekend physical activity on a chosen location in tourism destination. The findings represent a basis for actions of visitor management with the aim to accommodate the recreation needs of locals and other visitors. Chapter 7 The Contribution of Tourist Events to Local Development: A Case Study With a Sport Perspective in the Post-COVID-19 Era Territorial marketing is a fundamental tool for destination management and strategic planning in order to promote and highlight a territory, place, or city. In order to understand and comprehend the importance of territorial marketing in promoting this event, an analysis of the results obtained through a qualitative approach is made. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted in a focus group of nine participants. The recent pandemic of the new coronavirus has significantly changed the lifestyle of the population, with a strong impact on the tourism, events, and sports sector. Consequently, the Braga Romana (Portugal) tourist, cultural, and sporting event was canceled in the year 2020 due to COVID-19. This chapter is intended to present a retrospective of this event and the growing importance of the safety and hygiene seal as a response (and anticipation) to the 2021 edition. Chapter 8 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic The influence of perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise on exercise behavior is well recognized. During the pandemic, individuals` ability to perform physical activities is restricted due to isolation conditions. Still, adherence to exercise is more important than ever, considering the positive impact of physical activity on the immune system. Additionally, exercise helps people get rid of anxiety, depression, and stress, which tend to escalate in the pandemic. This chapter aims to increase exercise participation by understanding perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise during the pandemic. The relationship between isolation, exercise, mental and physiological health during the pandemic will be discussed. Moreover, a review of the perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise will be made. Last, an empirical study examining these relationships will be made. Chapter 9` With or Without COVID`: International Perceptions of the Tokyo Olympics, its Postponement, and its Rising Costs.. The Tokyo Olympics are now the most expensive Olympic Games to ever take place. Or should that be "to not take place"? Originally scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020, like much of the sports calendar, the Games were postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Now, delayed until Summer 2021, the costs for the Games continue to rise and will do so until the end of the competition. COVID has seen many tournaments cancelled, and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Tokyo Olympics. However, on 7 September 2020, IOC Vice President John Coates said that the Games would go ahead "with or without COVID." This chapter will examine the problems associated with the Games, those that existed pre-COVID and issues arising directly or indirectly from the pandemic. It will look at the media reporting of these issues internationally and the narratives about the Games within the COVID context. Is the media confident that Japan will be able to pull off an event that will signal recovery from a global pandemic? Or is it just blind, and expensive, optimism? Chapter 10 Fantasy Sports and eSports: Is Unconventional Becoming Conventional? A Case Analysis Fantasy sports and eSports are relatively recent phenomena that are growing in popularity and importance in today`s society. Per their nature, they are also tightly connected with sports. In this chapter, the authors present these two phenomena and explain their importance in today`s sports industry. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes fantasy sports and eSports consumption patterns and discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic affected them. To conclude, the chapter suggests the possible implications for fantasy sports and eSports in the future. Chapter 11 Dealing With Adversity: An Examination of the COVID-19 Impact on High School Athletes and Their Coaches. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, has been that rare world-shaking event, from its effects on health, economics, and politics to its influence on attitudes, behavior, and wellness. In a particular context, high school sports have also been greatly altered by the coronavirus, as many spring seasons were abbreviated, truncated, or aborted altogether in the wake of the pandemic spread. This chapter seeks to examine the effects of the pandemic on high school coaches and athletes in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a southernmost region comprising four counties on the Texas-Mexico border and about 1.5 million people. The Valley, as it is known, has one of the lowest per capita incomes per region in the United States, and it is an area where high school sports is a very important vehicle for all its participants. Chapter 12 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic: The Case of Colombia... This chapter explores different impacts that the pandemic has had on athletes from bodybuilding, aikido, and squash practices in Colombia. It seeks to analyze the effects produced by the COVID-19 crisis and the response actions, seeking a structure that allows for the understanding of changes in sports practices as individual adaptation to the new conditions caused by the pandemic. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted to establish a baseline of sports habits and to investigate the effects on motivations, routines, times, spaces, and perspectives of the athletes. After describing the methodology, the main findings are presented. The diversity of the responses was used to construct categories of analysis which, as an added value, allow for the grouping of heterogeneous positions, which were then divided into (1) adjustments, (2) adaptability, and (3) the negotiation of meaning. Finally, conclusions are presented. Chapter 13 Sport and COVID-19: The Case of Croatia and Serbia. This chapter aims to present the institutional response of two Balkan countries aimed at mitigating the COVID-19 andemic. The research methodology involves document analysis examining policy documents and legislation. The pandemic crisis is a worldwide reality resulting in implementing various physical distancing and preventive measures. These measures were very strict in the Balkan region, but the enforcement depended largely on political circumstances. The political management of the COVID-19 crisis showed that both countries proceeded with the centralized decision-making approach, including the adoption of specific regulations and support for sport movement. The COVID-19 crisis will continue to disrupt sport on different levels, and strong public support will need to provide sustainability of sport-related activities. The "re-thinking" of sport in its current form is inevitable to create more dynamic and resilient sport Chapter 14 One Step Forward and Two Steps Back? Pandemic Effects and Women`s Sport in Australia. Over the last decade, professional sport for women in Australia has experienced significant growth. However, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to all facets of life including sport has slowed momentum towards equity, diversity, and inclusion. This chapter considers the complex and contested growth of sport for women in Australia during this period. It starts with Australia and New Zealand`s bid win for the 2023 FIFA Women`s World Cup. Then two Australian women`s sport leagues are presented as illustrative case studies: the Australian Rules Football League for Women (AFLW) and the Super Netball League. A study of grassroots women`s sports in 2020 highlights the challenges access and engagement can present for women and girls during this period. In summary, an exploration of the response of Australian women`s sport to the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities for sports organisations to reassess and recalibrate the ways they could benefit both professional and grassroots sport for all. Chapter 15 The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports Slovenian sport is financed from three main sources: public expenditure provided by the state through the annual sports program and the Sports Foundation at the national level and local communities; population expenditure on sports products and services; and economic expenditure, which is mostly sponsorship in sports.Eachcompanyfollowsitsownsponsorshipstrategy,withmanyareasandprojectsalwayscompeting with each other, deciding which areas to invest in (e.g., sports, culture, etc.) and assess their priorities and relationships with other investments. 2020 has been heavily marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a profound impact on the world and the economy, as well as on sports and sponsorships. Namely, sport is one of the forms of social activity in which the participants are physically close or even in contact at all times. These are athletes, coaches, masseurs, physiotherapists, and others, as well as spectators. Most Slovenian companies have decided to insist on sponsoring selected sports activities, but they also expect some sort of government assistance. This chapter explores the impact of COVID-19 on sponsorship Slovenian sports
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