Coronavirus, the ultimate game spoiler
Mqondisi Dube | Friday March 27, 2020 17:06
When the coronavirus broke out in Wuhan late last year, no one ever imagined the devastating impact it would have just months down the line.
Lives have been lost, thousands more infected and jobs left in jeopardy. A jittery population has been plunged into a crisis of unimagined proportions.
Naturally, the effect has snowballed down to the fields of play across the world, with sport at a virtual standstill.
Some are already counting the losses, as a deadly virus’ spread refuses to abate. The 2020 Olympic Games, the biggest sporting event on the globe, became a major casualty when organisers were forced to shift the global showpiece to next year.
Local boxer, Sadie Keamogetse, and many others in her situation, would feel the world has temporarily turned against them.
Keamogetse became the world’s first boxer to book her place at the Olympic Games. The 23-year-old also found her place in the annals of history when she became the first local woman boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games. She is the first woman outside athletics, to qualify for the Olympics.
But coronavirus has connived to smash her dreams of making her debut at this year’s Olympics. She now has to wait a little longer to realise her dream of stepping into an Olympic boxing ring.
All hope is not lost though, as the organisers have pushed, rather than cancel, the games to next year.
There are other significant local moments that have been affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Football fans have been forced to find some other pastime as the BTC Premiership has been halted. It remains unclear if the current season would be completed. If the campaign is annulled, it might save the authorities the blushes, as teams were headed for a cashless season. This, after league financier BTC, significantly slashed the sponsorship amount to the Botswana Football Association.
The Zebras’ stuttering start to the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, has received an unwelcome reprieve, after the continent soccer body, CAF, postponed the qualifiers.
The Zebras were winless and goalless in the campaign, after two games, where they played to a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe, before a 1-0 reversal to Algeria.
National team coach, Adel Amrouche, reported to be on a P250,000 monthly salary has been forced to remain inactive.
His last assignment was against Algeria in November, and he would certainly go for six months or more without a match.
On the international front, just across the border in South Africa, an exciting league race was developing among the leading three, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. But the authorities remain hopeful the season would be completed, as the neighbouring country began a 21-day lockdown on Friday morning.
In England, Liverpool was on the verge of completing a 30-year-league title wait, but coronavirus popped up to ensure the Scousers’ champagne remained firmly on ice.
Governments hope the coronavirus’ graph would start to plateau in the coming weeks, as the disease tapers-off.
However, there could be complications, and there is no timeline as to when the playing fields would explode back into life.
For now, the novel virus is the undoubted, but frowned upon man-of-the-match.