Donald Perdoci Draft 1

Topic: How has Covid-19 impacted the world of soccer.

The reason I chose this topic is because I am a soccer fan and I would like to talk about how Covid-19 has changed this sport for more than a year now.

Primary Research Questions:

1.How are the main institutions of soccer dealing with the current situation of the pandemic?
2.Will there be additional restrictions or will the actual ones change?
3.What is going to happen with the development of teams?

Remember, good research questions should not have clear and obvious answers. Check your first two questions again. We can easily answer these questions with a few simple Google searches. Your third question is a little more open, since it is asking about future practices. I suggest trying to focus your efforts on this question or a similar one that explores the impact that COVID has had on the more unpredictable elements of soccer in general. For example, are the risks associated with playing more compact schedules too high Will this eventually lead to less competitive matches, especially for smaller market clubs? 

Entry 1

Reference Entry:

Mota, Santos, & Marocolo. (2020). Change in Soccer Substitutions Rule Due To Covid-19: Why only Five Substitutions? Retrieved March 12, 2021, from https://cuny-bb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_145ea01988f549659ea54f3e178f00b7&context=PC&vid=01CUNY_BB%3ACUNY_BB&lang=en&adaptor=Primo+Central&tab=Everything&query=any%2Ccontains%2Ccovid-19+soccer&offset=0

Summary:

The sport with the highest number of injured players is said to be soccer. Statistically, players have a higher chance of getting injured during games than during training, this due to multiple factors, such as fatigue, collisions, nature of the match, etc. Therefore, some of the rules of the game have been changed, and one of them is the substitution rule. In March of 2020 soccer seasons were interrupted worldwide to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Leagues resumed but this caused an overlay of the schedule where teams had to play several games in a couple of days, which logically increases the risk of injuries. Hence, FIFA (International Federation of Soccer) temporarily authorized the increment of up to five substitutions for each team per game as compared to the standard rule of only 3 substitutions for each team. Soccer is a physically demanding sport, therefore this rule was amended to help decrease the injury rate of the players during a game.

Reflection:

I believe that the rule of allowing teams to make 5 substitutions in a game is much needed for players and teams as well. [We want to try to stay away from agree/disagree or “I believe” statements for this research/essay. Instead, we want to focus on simply providing an analysis of the work we are reading.] The reason I think so is because playing 3 or 4 games per week is very risky for soccer players because they are being exposed to the probability of getting injured and this may affect their season or even their career. When a player gets injured, he loses his form and will need time to go back to his old form, thus his spot in the starting line-up is questioned. This scenario usually happens with long-term injuries, but it may happen even with short-term ones. The reason this rule is beneficial to teams is because they can’t afford to lose their players, especially important ones, due to injuries. If this happens, then their chances of competing for a cup or league get smaller and smaller. That is why I think FIFA made the right decision when they added the 5 substitutions rule.

Quote:

“Modern soccer has several matches with 72–96 h between matches, generating congested schedules; an issue for clubs and medical staff (Ekstrand et al., 2004; Dellal et al., 2015). Now, with seasons resuming, this issue is exacerbated as most soccer clubs are involved in upwards of two matches each week.” (page 1).

Reason for choosing to paraphrase this quote: This sentence clearly shows how soccer players might become injury prone due to the excessive fatigue caused by overloaded schedule. As mentioned above, playing a couple of games in a week may affect players’ performances.

Paraphrase of this quote: There is a time period of 3-4 days between games in modern soccer which is considered to cause a very tiresome schedule for teams. This problem is not addressed to clubs only, but also to the medical staff of the teams. With the continuation of the season, this issue has become worse and worse since soccer clubs will consequently participate in more than two games per week.

Entry 2

Reference Entry:

Cole. (2020). How is COVID-19 affecting the Football (Soccer) Industry? Retrieved March 13, 2021, from https://www.masterstudies.com/article/how-is-covid-19-affecting-the-football-industry/

Summary:

Fans who have watched a game of soccer from the standings of the stadium are now watching them from their home. There are lots of challenges that the sport is facing, and here are some of them; changed routines, matchday innovation, youth players thrive, developing technology and relationships, financial hit not as bad as predicted etc. People not attending the stadiums means no income for clubs from sold tickets, which leads to inability from signing big name players who cost millions of money. This results in the thriving of academy players, who can make it to the first team and will cost no money. However, the financial loss is not as bad as predicted where leagues were said to lose billions of money. Soccer businesses are also evolving with institutions opening up to offer degrees for those deeply interested in the sport. [I think this source might be good as an introduction/background information about how COVID has affected soccer in general.]

Reflection:

I am with the same mind that soccer has irreversibly changed, hopefully not for too long. Even though the article suggests that the financial hit is not that huge, some big clubs are in debt of billions of euros. This has happened mainly due to the lack of generating income that fans and stadiums bring. Also, I agree that players of youth teams are getting more chances in the first teams, and this again due to the small capacity of income. Transfers are hardly being made since the value of the players is too high for some teams, therefore they look up to their academies to find the players they need. Overall, the article does well in explaining the drastic changes that are occurring in soccer which otherwise, I believe, would not occur if it wasn’t for the pandemic. The safety of people ( players included) is of course what matters, but as a soccer fan I would like to see the stadiums packed with fans again. [Similar to my comment on the previous reflection: you have some good information here but stay away from offering your opinion; and instead, try to give more analysis about what this means.]

Quote:

“Instead of investing tens of millions in headline-grabbing signings, managers and coaches will invest unprecedented time and care in their youth squads, therefore promoting local talent.” (page 1)

Reason for choosing to paraphrase this quote: I strongly believe that one positive effect of the pandemic in soccer is the decrease of players’ market price. During the past decade, the price of decent players has gone so up ( for example $80 million) that in my opinion it is inconceivable to think that he is worth that much. I am not quite sure if it has to do with the currency or with business, but some players don’t justify their worth with what they show on the pitch.

Paraphrase of the quote:

Coaches are looking to improve their teams by using the local talent that they have at their disposal, with many academy players trying their hardest to make it to the first team. This, however, is an unusual event since coaches prefer to spend millions of money on signing players from other teams.

You’re off to a good start with this topic. We just need to focus on narrowing your focus so that you are researching/writing about a topic that is smaller and more argument-focused.