BRINGING HOME THE GALLERIES

EVEN AS WE RUE THE ABSENCE OF FANS FROM STADIUMS AROUND THE WORLD, SPORTS ADMINISTRATORS AND BROADCASTERS ARE BUSY DREAMING UP A RICHER ENGAGEMENT

- BORIA MAJUMDAR AND SOUVIK NAHA

IT WAS IN EARLY 2020, history might record, that spectator sports across the world changed irrevocably. As the world reeled from the coronavirus pandemic and our outdoor life abruptly shrank with the lockdown, as the pervasive fear of infection took hold of our psyche and keeping physical distance became the new social code to live by in public spaces, sports understandably took a backseat.

But there was too much at stake for the world of sports, and when it became apparent that in the foreseeable future, the world would have to find ways to ‘live with the virus’, sports administrators, too, prodded by necessity, began to dream of reinvention. More on that presently, but as countries start easing lockdown restrictions, we’ll likely witness a resumption of sports calendars at scale.