The puzzling familiarity of matches played in empty stadiums marked the beginning of a new year that brought back the same uncertainties facing world football.
With a momentary wave of COVID-19 ravaging so many countries, accelerated through mutant strains, even the continuation of competitions without interruption remains a challenge.
Enthusiasts’ return to matches was attempted in Europe, but he backed back more and more at the end of 2020, until the tourniquets were completely closed. Matches from all primary European leagues will be played against a silence fund in early 2021. the sterile environment devoid of the noisy atmospheres that players feed on.
The continuation of the exhibition, before the large deployment of vaccines, is the purpose of the organizers of the competition, to avoid long-break games that can result in costly discounts for broadcasters.
The English Premier League continued to play during the Christmas period, but now that the league reports a record number of coronavirus cases, the priority is to make sure that games and workouts don’t spread infections.
“I know it might not be smart to say, but those are difficult times for everyone,” Chelsea coach Frank Lampard said Friday. “We like to watch our football, but protection and fitness will have to come first. “
What 2020 has shown in world football is that many governing bodies like UEFA explicitly determine not to derail because of a virus epidemic, the pandemic can eventually make decisions out of their hands.
Postponed last year, the development of the rescheduled European Championship plans remains evolving. Before UEFA can tell if enthusiasts will be able to participate in matches, you will first need to find out where the matches will be held.
Logistics was already the most complicated for euros (gambling in 12 cities in 12 stadiums across Europe) even before the arrival of COVID-19; alternative plans are being implemented that can particularly reduce the number of sites used if cases have not progressed enough. .
Organizing the Copa Oro and Copa America behind in the Americas is a less delicate operation in June and July, but it is still based on protecting the team’s environment from coronavirus outbreaks.
If the organisation of a festival of 24 selections in Europe during a pandemic does not take enough time for the governing body, UEFA will have to face another complex situation. Champions League format that requires resolution.
The strength struggles that divided European football in 2020 persist.
“There is no more time for self-centeredness, there is no time for self-centeredness,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said in the hours after the cancellation of Euro 2020 last year. “It’s a reboot of world football. “
But nearly 10 months later, Ceferin is still pondering the conflicting priorities of clubs and leagues that we decided to remodel or protect the Champions League.
There are continued threats to launch separatist competitions as elite groups, led through Real Madrid, pursue bigger deals while moving away from the tough clubs of most small groups. Commotion with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain all starting the new year without overtaking their leagues.
A review of the English leagues through the six largest groups was thwarted last year when a possible benevolent offer, to aid clubs in monetary difficulties over the pandemic, was unmasked as what seemed like a naive acquisition. But the demise of the “Big Picture Project” has not dampened the preference for revolution.
However, it was the activism of the actors that shone in 2020 and encouraged them in the new year to use their platforms on the floor to make adjustments for society at large.
In England, players continue to kneel before the start, filling the stadium’s silence with a harsh symbolism in the quest for greater diversity in the game and an end to racism. Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford has demonstrated how a player can challenge a government’s hunger for children and force a policy of meaning change.
Health is a long way from the pandemic and the resulting poverty also consumes soccer as considerations about the long-term effect on the impact of the ball grow.
The new year brings one of the maximum adjustments to prevent players from suffering brain injuries while testing concussion substitutes starting this month. It can also be the year of head relay, at least in training, because studies highlight the dangers of dementia to ex-professionals.
“Just directing a ball doesn’t cause a concussion,” said Michael Gray, a neuroscientist at the University of East Anglia in England. “However, the brain still makes the skull wobly, there is still some pain that continues. And it’s this”It hurts over the years to direct the ball that creates neurodegeneration. “
It is a sobering warning that puts into attitude all disputes over festival formats, video assistant referees and decisions to postpone pandemic matches.
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