Tuesday March 23, 2021
Massive end of the season threatens
There is no place for sport in lockdown
The hope was great, the reality sobered: popular and amateur sports will continue to lie idle in the coming weeks. Instead of preparing for the new start, many leagues are facing demolition, as was the case last spring. The number of members and volunteers is falling.
The Corona test of patience continues for amateur and popular sports. Instead of the further easing of training and competition operations that had been hoped for a few weeks ago, the federal government and state leaders extended the lockdown on Tuesday morning after hours of negotiations until April 18th. This means that openings for non-contact indoor sports are off the table for most regions, as is visiting fitness studios or playing amateur football. How the resolutions are actually implemented is a matter for the individual federal states.
Three weeks ago there was still the prospect of slight openings. With a stable seven-day incidence of less than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, up to ten people should again be able to do sports in small groups in the open air. Most regions in Germany are far from this value.
Instead, there is an increasing number of new infections and the growing spread of more contagious virus variants. Therefore, the Bundesliga and other professional leagues must continue to play in front of empty ranks. In the decision following the consultations between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Prime Minister, sport is not specifically mentioned.
The lockdown athlete has been slowing down in the hobby and performance area for months. Since the beginning of November it was no longer allowed to play, not even to train. At the beginning of March, the federal and state governments submitted plans for opening steps, after which contact-free sport in small groups in the open air could initially be made possible again. Alfons Hörmann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, had described this as the “first glimmer of hope” and urged further relaxation.
These expectations have now been dashed for the time being. At best, there will be opportunities to open up sports activities in a few regions with very low incidences until at least mid-April. Therefore, there is now a threat in many sports federations of the final termination of seasons that have already started. Clubs and state sports federations recently reported significant membership losses, the number of volunteers is decreasing.
.