The Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, has said the sporting sector must map out ways to reopen with minimal exposure to COVID-19.
Mr. Dare said this on Thursday in a series of tweets on his official handle, adding that aside from keeping citizens healthy, finding out the safest ways to restarting sporting activities is crucial.
“I acknowledge the difficult era we are in now,” he said. “The Sports industry will continue to face a difficult time in the short to medium term. Even as we prepare for the fall outs.”
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According to him, “the biggest challenge apart from keeping our citizens healthy and safe, the sports world must consider how we can open up our sector safely and with minimal risk exposure.
“The prevalence of contact in many of our competitive sports & the impact of audiences must engage our minds.”
He noted that just as the National Sports Festival was called off even before the 2020 Olympics followed suit, stakeholders in the nation’s sports “must now apply our minds to how we can bounce back after COVID.”
The Minister said that while sports is a major contributor to the economy, sponsorship will dwindle, stressing that social distancing will make it hard for spectators to attend sporting events.
“Our athletes are the actors and we must factor their well-being and sports readiness into our plans,” the minister explained.
“The public are the ultimate consumers of the content athletes orchestrate.They sustain sports and their well-being & participation are critical to the sustenance of the sports industry.”
… the biggest challenge apart from keeping our citizens healthy & safe, the sports world must consider how we can open up our sector safely and with minimal risk exposure.The prevalence of contact in many of our competitive sports & the imptc of audiences must engage our minds
— Sunday Dare (@SundayDareSD) May 7, 2020
