We have now been living with the coronavirus pandemic for over a year. COVID-19 has changed just about every aspect of our daily lives, from the initial lockdowns to the social distancing measures in place after the world re-opened.
It has been particularly hard on the business world, including entertainment, cinemas and theatres, sports bars, and the best online sportsbook gambling apps. There’s been no escape.
Fans have been shut out
Sports fans can relate. Although the most popular events, including English Premier League football, have gone ahead, they’ve been behind closed doors. The turnstiles at many clubs have been jammed. That had more of an impact on smaller clubs, those without the millions in TV contracts and TV deals. Teams without the billionaire owners. How have they survived the pandemic? It’s not been easy, that’s for sure.
In this article, we look at some of the ways the smaller clubs in the United Kingdom have kept their heads above water. How did a Non-League side from England or a part-time team from the Scottish League One stay active without the income brought by those paying at the gate and packing the terraces?
We’ve seen some intriguing ideas over the last 12 months and some errors that proved football is out of touch with the ordinary fan. Some of the changes made to the business side of running a small football club may last longer than the pandemic that caused them.
Season ticket sales
Many football clubs would have crumbled without season ticket sales, but they could offer supporters what was sold as a virtual season pass. This was a pass for the entire campaign that meant if fans were unable to get into stadiums and cheer on the team, they could do so from the comfort of their own home. This was through exclusive live TV coverage and live streaming on desktop computers and mobile apps. Far from ideal, of course, but not much is in these trying times.
This worked exceptionally well for teams that don’t usually have their matches broadcast live on TV. Smaller clubs set up their own coverage and made it available online to fans worldwide. On purchase of your season ticket, you’d be given login details to the live stream channel. On matchday, it was a simple case of logging into your account and watching the play.
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