Journalists and newsrooms find themselves in an unprecedented situation with COVID-19 cases increasing throughout the world and sports fixtures being suspended or cancelled by government action or on the initiative of sporting organizations in the Gambia, by the national sports council through the advice of the Ministerial Covid-19 taskforce headed by the vice president.
In the Gambia, lucky as we could be, the numbers have been falling drastically as the government announced a state of public emergency.
Sports and its coverage has been shelved for so long but a glimmer of hope seems to be on the horizon with these newly reported developments to the delight of all sports enthusiasts and journalists. The Gambia Football Federation, GFF has announced the league will commence in December 2020, albeit behind closed doors.
Following the announcement by CAF of the resumption of qualifiers for the delayed Cameroon 2020 tournament, a renewed sense of optimism has suddenly gripped the sports media and press.
The Gambia Football Federation with all hopes and signs of being on the verge of making history had the national team coach name his provisional squad to take on Gabon for the double header which could effectively seal their fate for Cameroon. With an eagerly patient press corps, that announcement couldn’t have come at a better time. The signs are looking good.
The government imposed mandatory masking with an aggressive sensitization programme enforced by the security agents and social distancing measures to limit the spread of the virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also upended all areas of life and sports is no exception. Every aspect of sports has been affected, from the athletes themselves to media coverage, loss of revenue and volunteers running media houses.
The pandemic has also upended the sporting calendar, the National Sports Journalist Award, national training events were all suspended to limit the spread of the virus.
However with the advent of the FIFA Covid-19 Relief Fund to Football Federations around the world, the Gambia football Federation was generous enough to recognize the sports press as stakeholders with a $3,8400 support package.
With all sports in the Gambia going through a patchy amateurish run; national leagues without any recognized sponsor, no meaningful income from gate takings talk less of broadcast or TV deals or match-day income revenue, this means no income and no income at all.
It is obvious that the economic disruption and social dislocation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is not evenly distributed. Some sports related businesses face catastrophe and the psychological stress and boredom suffered by individual athletes remain immeasurable. Covid is a disruptor.
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