The impact of COVID-19 on the sports industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has issued an unprecedented challenge to the world’s population. Sports, a hitherto growing industry, marks no exception. Athletes, clubs, and associations were hit largely unprepared when major sports events, such as tennis tournaments, football seasons, and the Olympic Games had to be cancelled or postponed due to health risks. This dissertation gives three individual yet interconnected perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on the sports industry: First, the drivers of absenteeism in high-income labour markets are identified taking tennis as an example. Second, a literature review draws a comparison between COVID-19 and past external events in professional football, such as the Bosman ruling or Financial Fair Play. Third, a novel machine learning model significantly improves the forecasting accuracy in Olympic medal forecasting, while explaining the determinants of national success at the Olympics. This publication is based on a dissertation of the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. The author Christoph Schlembach holds degrees in finance and information management, as well as mathematics, and has gained practical experience in the sports industry having worked for the football clubs FC Bayern München and VfB Stuttgart.

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