COVID-19 has been around for so long that it’s kind of difficult to imagine the old days. Remember going to stadiums or the pub to watch a match with your friends? It’s really been ages.
For the impact it has directly on athletes’ health and the way we watch the games, we need some innovation here. It’s time to improve the situation and make life easier.
Fortunately, leagues like the UEFA, teams, and even fans are all beginning to wake up and start thinking creatively about how football can not only adapt to COVID-19 but thrive once again.
Safer Conditions For Players
This is the biggest concern for everyone. Without healthy players, we would have no football to watch. But with cases surging, it’s hard to guarantee player safety not just in football but for all sports.
Fortunately, some really cool tech breakthroughs can at least help provide early warning signs and detection of COVID-19.
One example is the Oura ring, which is already being used in the NBA. The custom-fitted (and stylish) ring can track user activity levels, heart, respiratory rate, and body temperature changes.
This is cool enough, but then all this data is analysed and can then be used to generate a risk score that flags early warning signs.
The result is that diagnoses can be made sooner, and players can quarantine before risking exposure to their teammates and even their competitors.
That’s just the beginning, too, of the different types of wearables that effectively monitor COVID symptoms and ensure player health from both infectious diseases and tracking injury and recovery.
Safer Stadium Experiences
For now, this a little further down the road. Football stadiums have already done a good job improving health and safety measures. One of the coolest you may have seen is the temperature gun that can detect temperature and show whether somebody may be experiencing a fever (they’ve had these airports for a long time, actually).
As stadiums begin to open back up, other tools will be further used to improve safety.
Signify is an exciting new tech which can disinfect the area using UVC ray to reduce the risk of airborne COVID-19 spread.
We can also expect stadiums to be at limited capacity for the next couple of years. This, unfortunately, won’t help the ticket prices, but when you do get to go, it should be a less crowded and more pleasant experience!
Mastering The In-Home Experience
For most of us, this will be the way we watch football for the foreseeable future. There’s nothing wrong with this.
But there are numerous to enhance your football watching experience. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen numerous VR breakthroughs. One great product worth checking out is Livelike, which is specifically designed for sports.
It also includes game streaming, social networking, gamification, and other ways your spice up your viewing experience.
On the note of streaming, you’ll need to get a reliable VPN. Typically, we recommend a UK VPN as that’s the best way to access Premier League Content.
VPNs or virtual private networks allow you to change your virtual server to connect to not just the UK but any country that might be streaming a football match that you might want to see.
At the same time, VPNs are also powerful cybersecurity tools that are important to keep you safe as there have been rising cybersecurity attacks since the pandemic outbreak.
The Future of Football in the COVID-19 World
There is good news. With a vaccine now available, there is light at the end of the tunnel. We will eventually get back to football the way we used to enjoy it.
In the meantime, however, football must adapt and not just for the sake of the pandemic but for players, coaches, fans, and everyone. We all deserve a safer, healthier experience.
The silver lining here is that this will all be possible. And in the meantime, you can enjoy the best football action from the comfort of your home. While it might not be at the stadium, their food and drinks are at least a whole lot cheaper!