Can the "safe bubble" theory restart sport? The first plans on how to recover and manage the post-pandemic
How and when will football restart? This is the question that everyone is asking right now: players, coaches, fans, clubs, leagues, federations, stakeholders. If on the one hand it is more than logical to block everything - with the exception of the Belarusian championship - at least until the end of the acute phase of the spread of the coronavirus, on the other it is undeniable that football can give everyone that boost of confidence that would help increase the hopes of getting out of what many already call "the greatest moment of crisis since the second post-war period".
There are questions as to how and also when, with federations and associations that try to study the estimates of the health institutions, the forecasts and the numbers concerning the pandemic peaks, that plan plans that go from A to Z in order not to lose the 2019-2020 season. The unpredictability of the virus, however, does not make the strategies of a world, the sports world, that is trying to get up again very simple. To date, the only certainty is the work of the leagues, which design and compose puzzles to ensure that we can return as soon as possible, always privileging health over all other interests.
The news comes from Brian Windhorst, ESPN's more than reliable pen. According to the American reporter, the project that would lead the National Basketball Association to resume operations involves the creation of this "bubble" in which to play teams in one or at most two cities, creating the necessary safety conditions. While in England there is still an aura of mystery about the "where", in the USA there are already 3 possible locations to start again: the first would be Las Vegas, which is already home to the Summer League and already prepared in terms of structures with Thomas & Mack Center, the Cox Pavilion and a possible field to be installed inside the huge hotels of the Strip, to have all the teams and professionals under one roof; the second option is the Bahamas, with hotels and resorts that could turn into an oasis to isolate everyone involved; the third option is the Midwest - moving in full to a university campus - one of the least COVID-19 cases in the United States.
Whether the American solution or the English solution is the one capable of leading the way to return to normal, precautions are an obligation and safety conditions will be a priority. From the Legacalcio offices, however, no signal leaks. Italy is the world epicenter of diffusion at this time and the critical issues to be overcome are much more impressive than in other nations. The cancellation hypothesis, according to the declarations of some Serie A presidents, cannot be excluded.
