A study on the impact of COVID-19 on risk management within individual and team sports

Abstract

In this paper the research question is “A study on the impact of COVID-19 on risk management within Individual and team sports”. It sets out to find how risk management was affected within the sports industry, how the sport has changed and the impact COVID 19 has had on players. This research was conducted by a qualitative questionnaire and sending it to tennis and football clubs from Ireland and Malta. Thematic analysis was used for the findings and the main five themes identified were Change, Struggle, Protection, Connection and Happiness. The general findings suggest that clubs and players alike had to overcome many challenges during the COVID 19 pandemic and adopt to the new way of playing sports since its resumption. The human element of connection was also a main factor, and how important the social aspect of playing sports is to players. This research is important as it gives a starting point to researchers wanting to research this topic in more detail. This research is significant as it gives insight and knowledge for sport clubs on how to deal with a major risk such as a pandemic and how to overcome this challenge.