How the Sports Industry Is Dealing with the Corona Crisis

This text on the impact of the pandemic on the world of sport will be continuously updated. In particular, we would like to show actions that encourage, that strengthen social interaction in and through the sports community or that show how athletes support aid projects.

If you know a helpful initiative from the world of sports or an encouraging action of an outdoor brand, please write to content@ispo.com. Then we will gladly write about it here.

Due to the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and following the recommendation of the Bavarian State Government and the competent health authorities, Messe München is compelled to cancel OutDoor by ISPO 2020. This step was taken in agreement with the European Outdoor Group (EOG) trade association in order to protect the health of exhibitors and visitors. The next OutDoor by ISPO will be held in summer 2021.  

“Under these circumstances it is not reasonable to go ahead with OutDoor by ISPO as scheduled - for health and economic reasons,” said Klaus Dittrich, Chairman and CEO of Messe München, who is responsible for OutDoor by ISPO. “We are now looking ahead and working together with the industry to organize a successful OutDoor by ISPO 2021.”  Read the official statement here.

The American shoe manufacturer Crocs donates 100,000 shoes to healthcare workers in the United States. The website also provides a free pair of shoes for healthcare workers.

Rafael Nadal has launched an appeal for donations: The 33-year-old tennis star hopes to raise eleven million euros to fight the corona virus. After Italy, Spain is the country most severely affected by the pandemic in Europe.

The initiative is intended to help the Red Cross with the procurement of protective equipment and to support families in Spain who are directly affected by the virus.

The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) agreed to support the IOC in their decision making processes regarding the rescheduling of Tokyo 2020 by collating all relevant questions from the industry and submitting these to the IOC. That is the result of a conference call of IOC and WFSGI members.

Corona crisis - and home training has never been more popular. The best offers from different suppliers  summarized in the ISPO.com article.

All over the world, the world of sports is moving closer together to support the fight against the corona virus. More and more international associations and organisations are coming forward with statements and concrete campaigns. Wednesday at a glance. 

Portugal's sporting goods and textile industry is actively involved in the fight against the coronavirus. 

The textile association ATP, together with the Citeve Technology Centre, is organising a platform of the Portuguese textile industry to respond to the call of the Ministry of Health for textile equipment for hospitals. Several clothing manufacturers from northern Portugal spontaneously offered to switch their fashion production to protective masks and clothing.

Read more about it here

Manufacturers also support medical personnel in Poland: the company 4F currently produces aprons and safety shoes.

From Poland to Austria: The employees of Breddy's in Vienna, manufacturer of sustainable hiking pants made from castor-oil plant, now also weave protective masks and clothing. 

Together with the WHO, FIFA has launched an information campaign with world-famous faces from the world of football. FIFA President Gianni Infantino is speaking from the WHO headquarters in Geneva.

Under the Motto «Pass the message to kick out Coronavirus», 28 football stars talk about the five most important measures that everyone around the world should now follow to contain the crisis: Wash your hands, cough in the crook of your arm, avoid touching your face, keep physical distance and stay at home. 
The campaign will be sent to FIFA's 211 member associations for distribution, as well as to media agencies. In addition, Fifa has donated USD 10 million to the WHO Solidarity Fund. 

The categories range from employee protection and current legal regulations to statements in connection with the corona crisis. 
In a personal statement, OIA Executive Director Lise Aangeenbrug, who only assumed this position in February, also addressed the members on the website: «it’s not how I expected to begin my tenure as OIA executive director, but it is time for us all to adapt.»

BREAKING NEWS: The Olympic Games in Tokyo will be postponed

It is a decision that is unique in history: The Olympic Games will now take place in 2021 - but still be called "Tokyo 2020". Read the details here. 

We start the day with a look at China. There companies are gradually resuming production. ISPO.com asked the textile specialist KTC and learned that supply chains are the biggest problem in the return to (limited) normality. Read the whole interview here.

Ebay has set up an emergency aid programme to relieve and support German traders in the Corona crisis. An excerpt from the benefits: 

• Traders who do not yet sell on Ebay should have easy access.
• Because of delivery delays: Sellers' service status will be protected from downgrading from March 20 to June 20. Only on 20 June 2020 will a new rating be made. 
• If, on the other hand, the service performance of a seller improves during this period, the seller will of course be upgraded. 
• For small traders: Deferral of payment of sales fees for 30 days.

In the past few days, events have taken a turn for the worse. We have collected here once again many actions that have already started in the past days.

For example, more and more manufacturers are providing support in the production of aids to overcome the corona crisis: protective masks at a Maloja subsidiary in Bulgaria and at Trigema, disinfectants instead of bike cleaners at Tunap, shoe manufacturer Allbirds is supporting hospital staff in the USA and Oberalp is converting its production.

On the other hand: retailers who are trying to save their turnover with creative offers on the net. And many athletes have switched to eSports.

Normally, the Maloja subsidiary VIOMODA in Bulgaria produces high-quality functional clothing. Currently, all existing orders are on hold in order to produce protective masks for the domestic market at the request of the Bulgarian government, Maloja reports on his Facebook page.

Trigema, manufacturer of sports and leisure wear based in Burladinge, Swabia, is also reacting to the corona crisis and writes on its page: «In the current corona crisis, protective clothing is urgently needed. TRIGEMA has therefore reorganised its production to counteract the lack of face masks with immediate effect».

Tunap Sports, among other things a producer of bike cleaners, will sell a disinfectant for surfaces from April. A spray disinfectant for hands will follow shortly.

«We are all the more proud that the Oberalp Group has been able to continue working and serving society by importing masks and medical clothing for medical staff and producing water-repellent, washable and reusable protective jackets.»

This is what the Italian group (Salewa, Dynafit, Pomoca, Wild Country and Evolv) writes in a posting on LinkedIn. Oberalp AG has already delivered a total of 1.5 million disposable protective masks and 1 million disposable protective coats to medical facilities in Italy last week.

Shoe manufacturer Allbirds supports hospital staff by providing shoes for medical professionals. Keen has also launched a similar campaign.

Many retailers are now showing themselves to be creative in terms of virtual customer care and sales. The Schöffel-Lowa-Store in Regensburg addresses its customers via video message.

#buylocal - this call is currently an appeal from many retailers, not only from the sports industry. The dealer network Intersport is asking sports fans to order online, delivered by the local dealer.

The Frankfurt Laufshop shows great commitment to the net. Owner Jost Wiebelhaus is calling for people to go running alone, but also to continue to support local retailers. The running group of the shop was redefined as a "virtual running group". All participants should post pictures of their "solo runs" with the hashtag #virtuellermontagslauftreff on Facebook.

The sports activities in many sports leagues were abruptly interrupted by the corona virus. The solution eSports instead of sports in real space. For example, at FC Bayern Basketball the e-sportsmen of the bayernballers stood in for the cancelled EuroLeague game on Saturday evening.

Output restrictions in Bavaria, smart fitness start-up and generous footballers. This happened on 20 March.

The Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder has announced that there will be far-reaching initial restrictions in Bavaria. Specifically, from midnight on, restaurants (except for to-go possibilities), DIY stores, hairdressers and other businesses will be closed. The right to visit old people's homes, hospitals and similar establishments will be suspended except in special cases. On the subject of sport, Söder said: "Sport will continue to be possible, but alone or with the family". He explicitly forbid group sports. This applies for the next two weeks.

Even in the German federal states with exit restrictions, jogging, cycling and sports in nature are thus permitted. However: Only alone or with family members.

What you have to take into account for outdoor sports.

The VDS (Verband Deutscher Sportfachhandel) informs retailers on its homepage about assistance that applies to German retailers in these enormously difficult economic times. It deals for example with immediate help in case of liquidity problems or the deferral of social contributions and control.

For those who work in the sports business and want to use the time to learn something, ISPO.com and the ISPO Academy offer free webinars. Furthermore ISPO wants to contribute even more to the exchange of knowledge, so everybody who wants to offer their webinars or digital presentations for free on the ISPO webinar platform can register here.

The basketball players of Alba Berlin reacted quickly. On Youtube they offer digital sports lessons. Already on Wednesday the first league club delivered an offer for primary school children. Today followed a sports lesson for kitakids.

More videos will be added next week. The former international player and Alba vice president Henning Harnisch said about the project online at the time: "It is a very big social task not only to be sad, but to develop ideas that ensure that we don't get social or societal problems in the coming time. At the same time, we have 120 youth coaches who don't want to do nothing either."

There are almost 10,000 fitness studios in Germany - currently all of them are closed.

The German start-up GYM-X is now working at full speed on the completion of their app, which was originally supposed to be released in May. The app enables gym operators to stay in touch with their customers - with features such as a digital training plan, training analysis, member profiles and news feeds.

Founder Nico Gumlich says: "Our plan was to launch the app in Germany and Austria on May 4. Now the Corona crisis has led to the closure of all fitness studios. Our most important concern now is to give the fitness studios an even closer contact to their members with our new app as soon as possible. In this way, we want to make a contribution to stabilizing the fitness industry and support the owners in these difficult times in the best possible way.

The sports retailer SPORT-XC shows that you can break new ground with creativity and courage in the Hunsrück. Owner Frank Hirt proves: necessity is the mother of invention.

On Instagram and Facebook he shows how customer service works even in times of crisis when the shop door is closed: with expert advice by telephone, CO2-neutral delivery service by bike, and other ideas.

Of course, many footballers are also taking part in aid activities. In a video, the DFB team calls for cohesion and together they donate 2.5 million euros for social purposes.

Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich stand out. The two national players and professionals from Fc Bayern quickly organised a large-scale campaign called "We kick Corona".

Everyone can make donations on the site and employees of aid organisations or charities can contact us if they need help. Here Goretzka explains why the campaign is so important to him and Kimmich and how much of their private income they donate:

Already in the middle of the week the colleagues of mtb-News had asked professional bikers how they deal with the current situation, because especially the cyclists were just about to start the season. Danny McAskill said: "Personally, I can consider myself lucky, I am doing well. But I'm sorry for my friends in the bike industry and also for all the other people who have been hit hard. We're all in the same boat in the end." Here's what the professional bikers say.

Sports enthusiasts should know this now. The most important information about corona, sports and sports business: