Quality vs Quantity: Are we watching the Premier League and Formula One reach their limit?

A few months ago, I wondered aloud whether holding major sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup on a more regular basis would be a good idea. I decided that other than it working nicely from a commercial perspective, it was a bad idea. 

News stories floating around during this festive period have pointed towards two of the most talked-about sports in recent weeks - at least in the UK - reaching their limits. What’s going on, what are the potential ramifications, and how do I see it ending?

Good news! COVID-19 might save the Premier League from itself

It’s ironic that in a week that has heard Premier League managers complain of the intense schedule for players, Manchester United played their first game in sixteen days. English football finds itself in a difficult position. Teams are committed to league games, the two domestic cups and European club competitions (between which players might play for their country). Annoyingly, COVID outbreaks mean that clubs cannot play due to a lack of players. 

English football is unusual in Europe’s top leagues in two ways: it has no winter break and still has two domestic cup competitions. Yes, it’s great to watch loads of games, but if the games cannot be played, delaying them will undoubtedly lead to further flooding downstream. Klopp and his Manchester City rival, Pep Guardiola, have used the same word to describe the impact of the high workload players face. Guardiola says it’ll ‘kill the players’, and Klopp says it’ll ’kill the beautiful game’. Either way, the top league in world football is at a crossroads and must make changes to continue its success. 

You may scoff at this. Football players are paid extraordinary amounts and have world-leading medical science on their side. True. But they are human, and we all need breaks. While COVID outbreaks this winter will probably cause issues later in this season’s schedule. Hopefully, the problems will be so much so that it leads to positive change to help sustain the Premier League’s position as number one globally.

It’s not just the superstars that suffer

COVID-19 has meant that F1 has done 39 races in 18 months, which is a lot. Once again, the pandemic has highlighted issues in the sustainability of the sporting setup.

Autosport published a fascinating article last week that gave an insiders’ perspective from an anonymous mechanic in F1, speaking of the mental and physical challenges faced by team members during a gruelling season on the road. F1’s desire to increase the number of races on its calendar and increase competition through cost caps has led to team members with the most demanding jobs working more without getting much more in return. 

The result is that more team members than ever are giving up on the sport that they love. Like the Premier League, F1 is considered the pinnacle of motorsport and thus, attracts the best in the business, leading to more greatness. If the demands of the sport start to drive the best in the world away, these competitions may find themselves in a dangerous and vicious circle. 

Are changes coming?

The first episode of Netflix’s Drive to Survive is named ‘Cash is King’. That might help give us an answer to the above question. The leaders of a sport will make decisions based on money because they are businesses. Call me a pessimist, but it’s true. There must be a way in which positive changes can come. For example, intelligent decision-making could allow for more sporting events to lead to more employment, with greater rotation of people avoiding widespread burnout.

I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but as long as these leagues are considered the best and have the best people involved, they will continue down this path of quantity. As soon as the quality starts walking away, no longer wanting to play, that is when changes will come. But by then, it may be too late. The people that made the league what it was are no longer there. 

The European Super League may not have been as far-fetched as it initially sounded.

Sustainability in sport is vital for a whole host of reasons. It is also crucial that we push the limits and change sports to make them even better - that is what all great entertainment businesses must do. However, if we can learn anything from the last two years, it is this: sports must know their limits or risk losing it all. And that’s easier said than done.

Happy New Year from everyone at AJontheLine.