Serie A Shut Down
South Africa’s under-23 men’s football team will not travel to Japan on March 27 to play a friendly game over fears of Coronavirus, says the Japanese Football Association.
“South Africa has cancelled a men’s under-23 friendly against Japan over concerns about the current coronavirus outbreak,” the Japan FA said in a statement last week.
South Africa has Reasons to Fear
Although no deaths have been confirmed, South Africa has had three cases of COVID-19 so far, a figure it hopes to reduce to zero. Part of its plans to contain the international outbreak includes postponing events such as its friendly with Japan.
South Africa hasn’t cancelled localsports events or public gatherings, though. That means local leagues, the SA sports betting industry, schools and businesses are operating as usual. Of course, that could change if the government feels a need to enforce more measures to curb the disease.
Japan is Hopeful about Holding Games
Meanwhile, Japan is hopeful it will continue to host friendlies to nurture its young team. Surprisingly, the East Asian country has already cancelled football competitions in all of its major leagues.
Last month, the J. League, Japan’s top tier football league, announced it had received orders to reschedule up to 94 football games until after March 15 to help stop Coronavirus.
“In order to cooperate as much as it can to contain the virus and prevent its spread, the J. League is preparing to resume its match calendar in the second half of March,” the league said on when it plans to continue its games.
Tokyo’s Olympics Games at Threat
It’s not just local tournaments and international friendlies the Coronavirus is jeopardizing. Japan could be forced to put the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on hold if the virus is not contained.
According to Japan’s Olympic Minister, Seiko Hashimoto, the country’s immediate plans are to push the starting dates for the event from July 24 to later in the year. Fortunately, many health officials in the country seem to agree the pandemic will have been contained by the summer.
Italy Taking Extreme Measures
Italy, the most affected country by the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe, voted to cancel sports events, including Serie A and hold some without fans for at least one month, starting March 10. The country has recorded over 3,000 cases of the disease with more than 100 deaths.
Italy’s latest decree also ordered all schools, including universities, to be closed down until March 15. The ban will also affect games in which Italian teams face foreign clubs, such as Lyon’s UCL game against Juventus on March 17.
Rugby, tennis and golf matches won’t be spared. However, event organizers have the option to postpone or hold them without spectators.
The rules are stricter for cycling games, though. The games can’t be held indoors, and that means they must be postponed until Coronavirus is contained.
Preventive Actions in the US
The US government is yet to make major decisions that affect sports events. However, multiple leagues, including the NBA and the MLB, have already announced their plans to help combat Coronavirus.
A memo sent by the NBA last month advised players to avoid shaking hands or using pens from fans to combat the outbreak. Meanwhile, MLB is monitoring the pandemic before making any major decisions.
Elsewhere in the World
Britain is in a “wait and see” mode before it decides whether to follow Italy’s lead of cancelling sports events.
In China, the epicentre of the outbreak, nearly all public events have been postponed indefinitely. That includes the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix planned to start on April 19. It also involves the LPGA Tour which should have begun in February.
