A world without sports is a sad one to live in

It has only been a few days that football, cricket and tennis have come to a halt but it feels like ages for a sports buff like me. 

All the social media pages of sports teams and sports portals are re-running old content - what happened on this day years ago, and who's birthday it is today - and that really is not much comfort as there is nothing new to look forward to. 

However, the one positive for me are the sports shows on YouTube which have been carrying out their content like usual. 

The Sky Sports, ESPN UK and a personal favourite of mine, AFTV YouTube channels are giving out regular videos with some analysis and transfer rumours; let's see for how long they can keep this up though. 

But the big gaping hole in my heart I'm left with is when I can't feel the joy of watching my team do well every week. 

True, the teams I support - Arsenal in football, and Bangladesh and South Africa in cricket - have caused me more heartache this season, but at least there was something to watch, to complete my weekly rituals.

However, understandably, all sports needed to stop as soon as possible and in all reality, it needed to stop before a high profile name like Mikel Arteta - the Arsenal manager - became infected by the virus.

Sports causes mass gatherings and could have been one of the biggest ways for the virus to spread even more.

Italy was carrying on the Serie A games with no crowds while even Uefa had some of their Champions League games and Europa League games under closed doors, and they should have acted faster and postponed the games.

But thankfully, for the sake of the players, everything has come to a halt.

So with that being said, let's take a closer look at what this coronavirus outbreak has done to the sports world and how it has affected everything. 

Big tournaments pushed back

Two of the biggest international football attractions after the league finished were the Copa America and the Euros. 

Both have now been cancelled as all of football in Europe and America has been suspended till the end of the month at least.  

One can hope that within a few months the games can resume and we can get the season to end, especially for Liverpool and their fans' sake, as Uefa have made it clear that they won't be awarded the league if the season was not completed. 

The IPL has been pushed back to April 15 while the WTA and ATP tours are on hold till April 7. And then there is talk of the French Open being pushed back to September, although some players are irked about not having been consulted about dates and it really just epitomises the amount of chaos and disarray this virus has put the sports world into.

Teams and boards will be financially affected

With games being cancelled, clubs have had to deal with the financial implications of not earning revenue from fans that would have visited the games. 

Television rights and other sponsorship deals have also taken a hit, especially for the lower division clubs, where some of the workers have been laid off.

The bigger clubs, like your Real Madrids and your PSGs, will also have the same issues as the money they would have had if the season had gone as planned will take a hit. 

Players might still be bought and sold, but the inflated prices we've seen in recent seasons might not be there. 

In cricket, the games getting pushed back might not all get time to be replayed.

The recent games in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) went on without any fans, behind closed doors, and that has not helped matters for the Pakistan Cricket Board. 

The third leg of Bangladesh's tour of Pakistan and the World XI vs Asia XI games have also been pushed back and those will all have negative financial implications on the cricket board.

The postponement of the ATP and WTA tours will also mean that the respective tennis bodies will not be making the expected money from them and the tennis players will also be negatively impacted. 

The players need to get back to match fitness

While it's easy to stay fit by exercising from home, match fitness can only be achieved by playing together in the field. 

Expecting the same level of intensity on the pitch from the top football teams might not be wise and teams will take time to cope up. 

These are unprecedented times and what's most important is the safety of the players we love to see and support every day. 

2020 was supposed to be the year for sports, with the likes of the T20 World Cup, the Asia Cup, the Euros and the Copa, but that has now all been put into disarray thanks to this pandemic. 

It has put into perspective things we have taken for granted for so long and made us realise that more important things are at stake - the safety of our lives and the players we love.

However, it has also left those who love sports in a position that they have never probably faced, a world without sports. 

And that's a sad world to live in.