Sport’s vaccine incentive
‘Our second home’
Including the arts, there are many who are desperate for full audiences to return.
Although exact losses are impossible to know, a few snippets are enough to bring home the point.
One study out of the University of Kinshasa in February estimated that the loss in the creative and cultural industries in six countries — including South Africa — stood at $1.5-billion (R21.23-billion) at the time.
The rugby pitch saw a 45% revenue decline in 2020 for Saru — generating only R710-million compared to R1.29-billion the previous year. The organisation said it was “a triumph to still be in business” and only remained so thanks to strict austerity measures.
PSL numbers are not publicly released but, after an inquiry submission, live attendance and suppliers made up at least 6% of its own revenue in 2017. All things being equal it means the league lost at least R50-million last year. And that’s before we even consider the livelihoods of others such as the vendors who sell wors rolls outside of Loftus Versfeld.
A return to stadiums would evidently share the dual purpose of reigniting the sector’s economy and, potentially, invigorating the vaccine drive.
Choosing between the jab and a return to their favourite grounds is a non-issue for many supporters, according to well-known Orlando Pirates fan Dejan Miladinovic.
“They trust the vaccines because they know that if they don’t get the vaccine they’re not going to be able to go to the stadium. That’s what I’m thinking myself and that is what’s going to happen,” says Miladinovic. “When the fans see the supporters which they know for many years — like me for example — most probably they’re going to do it.
“Maybe outside the stadiums they’re going to put the tents so that people will be vaccinated and be able to go into the stadium.”
Such an idea may well be one the country’s sporting authorities come to consider. For now, however, their actions appear tied to encouragement in the forms of drives and campaigns. With millions of South Africans emotionally invested in the nation’s games, lateral thinking in the sector could well assist the vaccine boon desperately needed.
For Machaka, Miladinovic’s friend and Soweto Derby rival, it is all too obvious that any soft-baked vaccine hesitancy will fade away in the face of a return to stadiums.
“Who would not want to get back to the stadium?” he asks.
“It will encourage people to get vaccinated and do what we love week-in, week-out. Remember, the stadium is our second home. You have the home where you put your head and sleep and dream. But the stadium is our second home. When we are there we feel happy, we forget about stress, we forget about being dumped by your girlfriend or wife or your husband. There’s a family away from family, which is the supporters.”