The world today is much different from the one we were in at the start of 2020. Lockdowns and restrictions have impacted most aspects of daily life and the world of sport is no different, from football to badminton very few sports have been left untouched or altered.
Basketball is considered one of the biggest sports in the world particular in the US however the sport has been gaining popularity over the last decade in the UK. The NBA have even made it a goal for them to push basketball forward and make it the second most popular sport in the country. It's estimated that 32% of children aged 11 to 15 play basketball in the UK and with various elite clubs producing players from their academies there is a clear demand for the sport.
Covid-19 unfortunately has thrown somewhat of a spanner in the works for the sport due to the various lockdowns and restrictions put in place by the British government. Similarly to the counties most popular sport football, basketball has been halted in various ways. In March at the start of the pandemics rise the 2019/20 basketball season was cancelled, all English leagues and the national team games were put to a stop.
As a result of this cancellation of the English leagues there would be no games played therefore clubs would not have the opportunity to bring in match day revenue from fans attending the games. In order to support the nations sports which have all indeed been impacted financially due to the pandemic, the government introduced their “Sports Winter Survival Package” which was seen as vital in ensuring short term financial stability.
This package was worth £300 million with the BBL, WBBL, and Basketball England receiving £4 million in order to support the sport in the country. This was seen as a massive boost to the sport in order to support clubs and ensure players and staff alike were able to stay employed.
The 2020/21 basketball season was fortunately restarted in October, however with fans not being allowed to attend games this support from the government was greatly warranted. We are now starting to see some really great progress in getting back to normality within the sport, as on the 6th December a limited number of family and friends were allowed to attend Ipswich’s WNBL1 home fixture against Team Solent Kestrels.
Though there were only a limited number of people allowed to attend it is certainly a great step in the right direction for the sport and will hopefully pave the way for fans to come back in the near future. Only time will tell if the sport will be able to bounce back once some form of normality is in place, basketball has everything it needs to become a massively popular event in the UK.
The future of the sport may be unclear for now and we shall see if any kind of new measures or changes will be made as a result of the pandemic. The sport will be surely ready to move on and grow and will likely take the recent hardships with it as it looks to the future.
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