No doubt has this been a hard year, with the number of cases of the Coronavirus rocketing, but this has had such a big impact on sport.
On the 1st of March I attended the Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolves game - which finished 2-3 (to Wolves). Knowing that the Coronavirus was starting to affect the UK, I was cautious but did not think for one second that that would be my last game which I could attend for a very long time.
Once lockdown commenced, footballers had to train at home and games were postponed for around 2 weeks, which was how long lockdown was imagined to be. After many many meetings between the Premier League and clubs, the League was resumed on June the 17th - around 3 months after the expected date!
However, many rules and regulations were put in place to stop the spread of the virus, the most major one being that no fans could attend matches. When I think of football, I think of the incredible atmosphere and unity of the fans, cheering and rooting for their club; footballers rely on the fans to motivate them and to help the team win the match. When this rule was announced, I began to wonder ‘How long will it be until we are allowed to attend a football match?’. Many clubs’ income started to decrease, meaning small/independent clubs had to rely on other teams and the public for financial support.
Just as the rules started to loosen and we all believed that we could start attending football matches again (with small clubs allowing a limited number of fans to attend matches as a trial) - even if we were socially distanced - the laws were tightened and now the only unity we get is still through the tv and the players’ shouts or the crowd enhancement.
When will we be allowed to attend football games again? Will this whole season be broadcasted on tv, or will fans be allowed to start to trickle back into the normality of attending games? When will we get to hear the crowd roar again?
By Grace Wells
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