An expert from RMIT University is available to comment on the future of sport post-COVID 19
RMIT sports marketing expert Associate Professor Con Stavros says the importance of sport has been re-classified during the pandemic spelling trouble for its future.
Con Stavros (0411 231 371 or con.stavros@rmit.edu.au)
Topics: sport marketing, AFL, club membership, community sport
“Sport may no longer be playing the important social function it has in the past and the future looks uncertain,, at least for the time being.”
“Sport isn’t fractured or bruised, it’s scarred. And while scars can heal, they can also fester and cause further damage. That is the crossroad of where sport is right now.
“Bill Shankly, a former Liverpool manager famously said ‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that,’ Perhaps, when truly tested, we’ve discovered this isn’t the case.
“Routines and ritualistic practices are what drive fandom, and in turn sport. Once these rituals and routines evaporate – both at the elite and community level - the power of sport to culturally and socially intertwine itself in our lives dissipates.
“Bubbles might allow a sport to be played out, but they don’t bring fans along on the journey in the same way.
“The same goes for community sport where training nights and gameday weekends have been disrupted, forcing families to rethink priorities.
“Will people return at all? Perhaps from three sports a week it becomes one as new habits in family groups are formed.
“In many areas volunteers, the lifeblood of community sport, are exhausted from stop-starts and managing their own lives through the pandemic.
“One approach for community sport will be to transform seasons into small batches to provide the flexibility to move, stop, start and rearrange as may be needed.
“For emerging sports, such as the AFLW, the exciting growth of recent years is now under pressure.”
“For Victoria, the pressure on sport has been especially intense given the protracted impact of government-imposed restrictions.
“That government will needwill need to look ahead to its calendar of major events and assess which can realistically proceed, and how.
“While most events can function under some realignment, an event such as the Australian Grand Prix must be under some pressure given its costs to stage and its reliance on interstate and international travel.”
Associate Professor Con Stavros is a leading expert in the marketing of, and through, sport. He is a regular media commentator, has published numerous books and articles on sport and is the editor of the international journal 'Sport, Business & Management'.
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