By David Awopetu
2020 has been a sporting year like no other. The deadly coronavirus pandemic forced global sport into an unprecedented shutdown, with the Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2020 among the events affected.
Liverpool won the English Premier League while Bayern Munich clinched the Champions League behind closed doors as football tournaments returned without fans.
In the outgoing year, sport also became a platform for protest against injustice. First, the #BlackLivesMatter and later the #EndSARS movement captured global attention.
The sporting world also mourned the passing of Kobe Bryant, Paolo Rossi, Stirling Moss, Jack Charlton and Diego Amando Maradona among others.
Below are major narratives that defined sports in 2020.
Edo 2020 postponed
In Nigeria, the National Sports Festival (NSF) earlier slated for Benin in March, was rescheduled to hold at the same venue from January 3 to 17, 2021. The festival tagged ‘Edo 2020’ was initially moved to December due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Minister orders overhaul of Super Eagles’ coaching staff
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, in November called for an overhaul of the Super Eagles technical and administrative structure to achieve better results.
The minister gave the order at a meeting with Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials to review the Technical Report of the Nigeria/Sierra Leone AFCON qualifiers and other matters. The Eagles bottled a four-goal lead to share the spoils with their West African neighbours in Benin and a few days later managed a scoreless draw in Freetown.
NPFL paused, cancelled and restarted
The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was officially cancelled by the League Management Company (LMC) almost four months after its suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NPFL, which is seen as one of the major football leagues in Africa, competing with other nations for bragging rights at the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup games took the controversial decision after the chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, ruled out the return of any sports-related activities in the country, especially football due to the rising cases of the virus in the country.
It, however, resumed on December 27.
10th All African University Games postponed to 2022
The FASU Executive Committee, at its meeting held on 30th April 2020, approved a proposal to postpone the 10th FASU Games, Kenyatta University 2020 and its related activities/events to 2022.
Covid-19, The only news story of 2020
The coronavirus pandemic led to the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Euro 2020, and virtually every other major sporting events.
Black Lives Matter and the athlete activists
The killing of George Flloyd on 25th May at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked a wave of demonstrations across the US and beyond. A cascade of supportive statements followed from sports teams, federations, broadcasters and leagues. A mouthpiece for the modern age, sport has proven, time and again, to be a prominent backdrop for diplomacy.
Whether it’s an athlete protesting for social justice, or a politician rallying public support, the sporting arena presents a stage to express outlooks.
On her way to winning a second US Open title in September, tennis star Naomi Osaka wore a different face mask before each of her seven matches to honour the names of black Americans killed during violent altercations, many of whom died at the hands of the police.
During her final post-match interview inside New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, Osaka was asked to elaborate on the “message” she wanted to send. In response, the 22-year-old said, she feels like the point is to make people start talking.
Sport Legends who died in 2020
The year 2020 will not only be known for the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc around the globe, but it will also be remembered as one of the most tragic year in the world of sports due to the passing of legends right from the very first month to the last.
Here’s a recap of some of the sporting legends that passed away this year.
KOBE BRYANT
The on-the-court great, who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles, died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash that killed eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. He was 41.
Kobe Bryant retired from the game in 2016. He played 20 seasons in the NBA: all of them with the Lakers.
DIEGO MARADONA
Diego Maradona was larger than life. The world-famous soccer star from Argentina led his countrymen to two straight World Cup finals, including the 1986 championship. His legend was built on moments such as the “Hand of God” goal from the 1986 World Cup run. Most recently a coach, Maradona had battled health and drug problems.
Two weeks after undergoing brain surgery, he died Nov. 25 in Argentina. Maradona was 60.
CLIFFORD ROBINSON
Clifford Robinson was a star at UConn before he went onto a 19-year career in the NBA. In the pros, the forward was a one-time All-Star who played for the Portland Trail Blazers and four other teams. Robinson died Aug. 29 at age 53. He had several health issues in recent years. His family said he died of lymphoma.
MICHAEL OJO
Michael Ojo used his considerable 7-foot-1 frame to plcentreter for Florida State from 2013-2017. He went on to a professional basketball career in Europe. He was practising with his Serbian-based team on Aug. 7 when he suffered a fatal heart attack. Ojo was 27.
JOHN ALTOBELLI
The Orange Coast College baseball coach, his wife, Keri, and 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, were among the nine people who died in the Jan. 26 Kobe Bryant helicopter crash. John Altobelli was 56. Alyssa Altobelli and Gianna Bryant were teammates on a youth-basketball team coached by Bryant.
PAOLO ROSSI
Italy World Cup hero and football legend, Paolo Rossi, died at the age of 64 on December 9. Italian TV channel RAI Sport said that Rossi died of an “incurable disease”.
Pablo Rossi was idolised by football fans in Italy. The star is fondly remembered for leading Italy to the 1982 World Cup title scoring 6 goals in their campaign.
Rossi won 2 Serie A titles, 1 European Cup and 1 Coppa Italia with Juventus but will be most fondly remembered for his six goals at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
His selection in the squad was initially criticised by pundits, who wrote him off as out of shape, but they were left eating their words when he struck one of the World Cup’s great hat-tricks against Brazil.
