Letter to editor
THE global sporting calendar needs to be re-aligned to avoid scheduling clashes. This issue was brought into sharp focus in June and July this year with no less than four major sporting events taking place concurrently or consecutively.
These are:
- Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup held in the US and the West Indies (June 4-30)
- EURO 2024 in Germany (June 14-July 14)
- Copa America in the US (June 20- July 14)
- Wimbledon in England (June 24-July 14)
As these tournaments are mostly played at night or in the wee hours of the morning, Malaysian fans are finding it difficult to adjust between work and watching these games due to the vast time difference.
This could even affect one’s health for lack of sleep can interfere with concentration during work or driving.
Nowadays, only a miniscule number of fans go to the stadiums directly to watch the games. The overwhelming number of sports enthusiasts in the billions view sports tournaments on television or their mobile phone.
As both cricket and football have billions of fans and supporters, international sports associations such as FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) need to cooperate and coordinate their international tournaments for maximum viewership and also increase advertisement and sponsorship revenues.
Downsides
Clashing schedules and fixtures are sure to reduce the number of viewers and subsequently advertisement and sponsorship revenues which are very crucial in the present era due to high salaries, prize money and other costly incidentals.
As such, it is important that sports organisations and federations cooperate and coordinate for a win-win situation for all involved.
One is perplexed as to why FIFA has to hold both the EURO and the Copa America at the same time.
In the case of the EURO, understandably UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) needs to take advantage of the European Summer to hold the tournament.
In contrast, why should Latin America which does not have any distinct seasons like Europe given it is mostly tropical or equatorial need to have its Copa America clash with the EURO?
It must be noted that both Europe and Latin America are the pre-eminent titans and regions for football.
Surely, adjustments can be made by Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) to ensure that Copa America does not clash with other major tournaments. After all, the Copa, though highly rated, suffers from less exposure and financial support.
Clashing with EURO 2024 will mean less viewership and lower revenues.
But now sports fans will have to content with the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia and the EURO final between Spain and England as well as the Wimbledon final to be played within a few hours of one another (July 14-15).
How are fans of all three expected to keep up? Similarly, the ICC, too, can cooperate with other major sports organisers now that Cricket has become popular and is viewed by more than a billion people.
Imagine having the Olympics and the Football World Cup clashing with one another or having the Australian Open clash with the French Open in tennis!
Sports organisations need to cooperate more now that sports have become a multi-billion-dollar revenue earner. This is due to increased exposure with countries and clubs spending fortunes for the growth and development of sports.
At the very least, the finely developed athletes should be given the opportunity to showcase their talent to the widest audience possible. In short, these tournament organisers need to be more sporting! – July 12, 2024
V. Thomas
Sungai Buloh
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
