HONG KONG • The coronavirus exposes an ignorance of China's lucrative sports market and poor contingency planning, experts say, after Formula One became the most high-profile casualty of a mass sporting pullout of the country.
F1 chiefs are scrambling to fit the Shanghai race into this season's schedule after the Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April 19, last week joined the World Athletics Indoor Championships and European Tour and LPGA golf tournaments in being shelved because of the deadly outbreak, which has claimed more than 2,000 lives.
The Formula E Grand Prix, badminton, skiing and Olympic qualifying events have also been cancelled, postponed or moved elsewhere, while the country's two biggest and most popular professional competitions - the Chinese Super League (CSL) and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) - has been suspended indefinitely.
The postponement of the Shanghai F1 race will likely lead to a £35 million (S$63.3 million) loss for organisers, according to the Daily Mail.
In October 2017, the CBA signed a 10-year undisclosed broadcasting deal with Chinese state channel CCTV-5 to show its games, which have been put on ice since Jan 21, while a five-year deal to broadcast CSL games was sold at a record-high 8 billion yuan (S$1.59 billion) in 2015 to China Sports Media.
But with more than a third of the regular basketball season left and the Feb 22 start of top-flight football campaign now in tatters, the total industry value of the Chinese sports industry, which had been projected to hit 3 trillion yuan this year in a white paper published by Deloitte, will likely take a hit.
The obliteration of the sporting calendar has, however, been regarded as unavoidable given the circumstances, with the virus, officially known as Covid-19, sparking global alarm since originating from the city of Wuhan in December.
The world's most populous country has become a major sporting destination in the last decade and top clubs and organisations - including the English Premier League, Fifa and National Basketball Association - have courted fans and their money in the world's second-largest economy.
Marcus Luer, founder and chief executive of sports marketing agency TSA (Total Sports Asia), feels that it will be business as usual once the virus clears, but a lesson has been learnt that extends beyond China.
He added: "This could happen anywhere in the world and federations and organisers need good contingency plans, especially in an Olympic year, where athletes are still qualifying for the (Tokyo 2020) Games."
"That's a learning point for major sports organisations to be ready and have a good Plan B in case something like this happens again in the future anywhere in the world. Honestly, I don't think any sport or event had a Plan B in place."
Professor Simon Chadwick echoes that sentiment.
As the director of the Centre for the Eurasian Sport Industry based in Shanghai, he noted European football clubs, in particular, failed to grasp the opportunity to show support for China and its people.
"The current health issues have exposed how distant many international sport stakeholders are from China, in terms of both geographic distance and cultural understanding," Prof Chadwick said.
"Furthermore, it appears many are rather too dependent upon second-hand information, suggesting that most don't have people on the ground to provide accurate insight and first-hand experience.
"If they are going to successfully engage in business in China, then they need to better understand the nuances and complexities of working there."
A recent column in the Oriental Sports Daily has, however, insisted that the Chinese sporting industry will similarly bounce back with renewed vigour once the coronavirus subsides, just like after the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.
It said: "The confidence of life, the confidence of the city, the confidence of the government and the good use of the spirit of sports culture will surely return quickly."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
