Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports


The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the most significant disruption to the worldwide sporting calendar since World War II. Across the world and to varying degrees, sports events have been cancelled or postponed. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were rescheduled to 2021. Spectators have no games to watch and players no games to play. Only a few countries, such as Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Nicaragua, have continued professional sporting matches as planned.

International multi-sport events

Summer Olympics

The 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were scheduled to take place in Tokyo starting July 24. Although the Japanese government had taken extra precautions to help minimize the outbreak's impact in the country, qualifying events were being canceled or postponed almost daily. "And the Games themselves are expected to draw 600,000 foreign visitors from nearly every country. According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Tokyo 2020 organizing-committee chief executive Toshiro Muto voiced concerns on Feb. 5 that COVID-19 might "throw cold water on the momentum toward the Games."
The traditional Olympic flame lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, to mark the start of the 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay was held on March 12 without spectators. On March 23, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain announced that they would withdraw from the Games unless they are postponed for one year. On March 24 2020, the IOC and Tokyo Organizing Committee announced that the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics would be "rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021", marking the first time in the history of the modern Olympics that an Olympiad has been postponed. The opening ceremonies of the Games were officially rescheduled to July 23 2021.
On April 29 2020, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that the Games "must be held in a way that shows the world has won its battle against the coronavirus pandemic".

Winter Olympics

Although the next Winter Olympics are not until 2022, the pandemic has already impacted qualifying in specific sports such as curling—where the World Curling Federation announced a proposal to have qualification be dependent on performance in the 2021 world championships and a final qualification tournament, as opposed to the previous plan of having qualification determined by both the 2020 and 2021 world championships. Qualification for the women's hockey tournament was to be determined by IIHF World Rankings after the 2020 Women's World Championship. As the tournament was cancelled, the existing rankings going into the tournament were used instead.

World Games

The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, were scheduled for July 2021, but due to the rescheduling of the 2020 Summer Olympics, the eleventh World Games will be held in July 2022 instead.

Arctic Winter Games

The 2020 Arctic Winter Games were cancelled.

ASEAN Para Games

The 2020 ASEAN Para Games were cancelled.

Summer World University Games

The 2021 Summer World University Games were postponed for ten days due to the rescheduling of the Summer Olympics.

National amateur multi-sport governing-body competitions

Canada

curtailed its men's and women's ice hockey championships on 12 March. On 8 June 2020, U Sports announced that it had cancelled all national championships for the fall semester of the 2020–21 academic year, including football, cross-country, field hockey, women's rugby, and soccer. Atlantic University Sport, Canada West, and Ontario University Athletics followed suit, suspending all university athletics programs through the end of 2020.

Ireland

The Gaelic games of football, hurling, camogie, and ladies' football – mostly played in Ireland – saw all competitions suspended from 12 March 2020. The National Hurling League, National Football League, National Camogie League and Ladies' National Football League were suspended, with competitions not intended to resume until 29 March at the earliest. On 17 March, the Gaelic Athletic Association confirmed that the opening fixture of the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – due to have taken place at Gaelic Park in The Bronx on 3 May – had been postponed.
On 26 June all GAA competitions would commence in October, with the hurling and football competitions to be an all-knockout competition.

Philippines

In the Philippines, NCAA Season 95 and UAAP Season 82 were both indefinitely suspended. NCAA Season 95 was terminated on 19 March after the then community quarantine in Luzon was upgraded to an "enhanced community quarantine", in effect a lockdown. UAAP Season 82 was canceled on 7 April, after the enhanced community quarantine was extended to 30 April.
On 1 May, the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. have decided to cancel their 2020 season.

United Kingdom

On 16 March 2020, British Universities and Colleges Sport, the UK organisation for university sport, announced that all fixtures from 17 March to 1 April would not take place. Some individual events, like the orienteering and windsurfing championships were canceled entirely, while others were postponed indefinitely.

United States

On 11 March 2020, the National Collegiate Athletic Association — the main U.S. sanctioning body for college athletics — initially announced that its winter-semester championships and tournaments, including its popular "March Madness" men's basketball tournament, would be conducted behind closed doors with "only essential staff and limited family attendance".
The following day, in respect of the suspension of the NBA season and other professional sports leagues, the NCAA announced that all remaining championship events for the 2019–20 academic year would be canceled entirely, resulting in the first cancellation in the 81-year history of the NCAA basketball tournament. This created a de facto mythical national championship situation. Other American multi-sports organizations—the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, National Junior College Athletic Association, and California Community College Athletic Association —also canceled their seasons. Additionally the Community College level sports governing bodies restored the season of eligibility to athletes who had already participated in the 2020 spring season.
On 12 May, due to the California State University system announcing that in-person classes would remain suspended through the fall 2020 semester, the California Collegiate Athletic Association —a 12-member NCAA Division II conference consisting entirely of CSU campuses—announced that it would also suspend its fall athletics season.
The Patriot League, an NCAA Division I conference that competes in the second level of D-I football, the Football Championship Subdivision, initially announced on 22 June that while it would hold its fall sports seasons, its teams would not fly to any competitions, and overnight travel would only be allowed on a case-by-case basis. Another FCS conference, the Ivy League, announced on 8 July that it was canceling all fall sports, and that winter sports would not begin play until after the end of the fall term. It left open the possibility of shifting its fall sports, including football, to the spring. The Patriot League would later cancel its fall sports season entirely on 13 July, but gave the two federally operated service academies among its membership, Army and Navy, the option to play fall sports as they saw fit. While the academies are full members of the Patriot League, their football teams play outside the conference in the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision.
The days following the Ivy League's cancellation of fall sports saw two of the major "Power Five" conferences of FBS announce that if fall sports were played, only in-conference matchups would take place. The Big Ten Conference made this announcement on 9 July, with the Pac-12 Conference doing the same the next day.
The financial fallout from the pandemic was specifically cited by the following schools in their decisions to drop certain sports programs. Unless otherwise noted, all announcements were effective for the 2020–21 school year.
Additionally, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff announced that it was "suspending" its men's and women's tennis teams for the 2020–21 school year, citing the pandemic, but did not officially eliminate the tennis program.
UAH initially dropped men's ice hockey alongside both of its tennis teams, but a successful fundraising drive by alumni and team supporters led the school to reinstate hockey a week later. Similarly, Bowling Green State University announced that it would drop its baseball team, but also had a successful fundraising effort that led to the team being reinstated.
MacMurray College, Notre Dame de Namur University, and Urbana University announced that they would wind down operations and close due to economic issues brought upon or exacerbated by the pandemic—effectively ending the entirety of their athletics programs.

Alpine skiing

The 2019–20 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup ended two weeks earlier after World Cup races in Sweden, Slovenia, and Italy scheduled for March were canceled. An earlier February World Cup race was moved from China to Austria.

Archery

The opening three stages of the 2020 Archery World Cup were postponed. Other events postponed include the Pan American Archery Championships, which were scheduled to be held in Monterrey, Mexico, from 23 to 29 March, and the European Para-Archery Championships, which were scheduled to be held in Olbia, Italy, from 18 to 26 April.
On 15 July it was announced that the 2020 Archery World Cup would be cancelled.

Association football

Athletics

The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships were scheduled to be held from 13 to 15 March in Nanjing, China, but were postponed until March 2021.
The 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships was scheduled to be held on 29 March in Gdynia, Poland, but was postponed until October 2020.
The first three events of the 2020 Diamond League, scheduled to be held in Qatar in April, followed by two events in China in May, were postponed until later in the year. On 12 May, a revised schedule was issued, but no points will be awarded for the events.
The 2020 Boston Marathon, originally scheduled for 20 April, was postponed until 14 September before being canceled completely on May 28. The 2020 London Marathon, scheduled to take place on 26 April, was postponed until 4 October. The 2020 Rome Marathon was cancelled as is with the Berlin, New York City and the Toronto Waterfront Marathons.
The 2020 Two Oceans Marathon, scheduled for 8–11 April, has been cancelled.
The 2020 Three Peaks Race, originally scheduled for 25 April, has been postponed to 26 September.
The 2020 Grandma's Marathon, scheduled for 20 June, was canceled by the organizers more than 50 days before it was to begin. They announced on 31 March that the marathon, the half-marathon, and the 5K would all be canceled.
Two of the Standard Chartered 2020 marathon series, Hong Kong Marathon and Kuala Lumpur Marathon was cancelled by the organizer over uncertainty of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The 2020 Berlin Marathon was prohibited from being held on its originally scheduled dates. It would be cancelled on 24 June.
The Peachtree Road Race moved from 4 July to 26 November.
The 2020 Comrades Marathon were cancelled.

Australian rules football

At the conclusion of its first round of games, the 2020 AFL season was suspended until 11 June, while the finals series of the 2020 AFL Women's season was cancelled after its semi-finals were played, with no premiership awarded. Both the AFL Women's semi-finals and the first round of the AFL season were played in empty stadiums.
The annual Australian Football Hall of Fame induction event was instead held over four nights as a series of television shows with pre-recorded vision and interviews with the inductees. The AFL Women's best and fairest awards were also changed to be a television only event, with the players being live streamed from their homes.
At levels below the fully professional AFL, most leagues either cancelled their entire season or significantly delayed their start. Player payments were cut to zero in the South Australian National Football League.
The 2020 AFL season has since resumed, however most games are or have been played without crowds. The league also reduced playing time by 20%, to four 16-minute quarters instead of 20-minute quarters. Other smaller changes have also been added due to the pandemic.
On June 28, officials in the state of Queensland announced a travel ban to and from the state of Victoria. The AFL then relocated all games scheduled for Victoria to other states for that week and the following week. Then, on July 15, the AFL announced that all teams based in Victoria would relocate to either Queensland or Western Australia for the rest of the season. This came due to Victoria ordering a six-week lockdown to deal with a surge in cases.
On July 21, the AFL revealed that matches in rounds 9 through 12 would be played in a rapid-fire format, every day from July 29 to August 17. Two games will be played on selected Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during this period. In addition, matches will not be played in New South Wales due to an increase in coronavirus cases in that state.

Badminton

All scheduled Badminton World Federation tournaments were suspended until 12 April due to coronavirus concerns. The affected tournaments are Swiss Open, India Open, Orléans Masters, Malaysia Open, and Singapore Open. Previously the body had suspended the German Open and pushed the Lingshui China Masters from February to May 2020. The 2020 Thomas & Uber Cup had also originally been postponed to 15–23 August, but on 29 April was postponed again to 3–11 October after Denmark exteneded a ban on "larger gatherings" to 31 August.
On 6 April all scheduled tournaments were suspended until 1 August, with World Rankings frozen as of 17 March.

Baseball

International

The qualifying round of the World Baseball Softball Confederation-sanctioned 2021 World Baseball Classic, scheduled in Tucson, Arizona, United States in March 2020 was postponed on 12 March 2020.
On 30 April 2020, Little League International announced that the 2020 Little League World Series and its associated regional qualifiers would be cancelled due to the pandemic. This was the first cancellation of the tournament since its first edition in 1947.

Asia

Japan

On 26 February 2020, Nippon Professional Baseball announced that spring training would continue behind closed doors. On 9 March, the league announced that the start of its 2020 season would be postponed until April.
Eventually, NPB started the 2020 season on 19 June, with the Japan Series starting on 21 November.
NPB commissioner Atsushi Saito announced on June, fan entry admit within 5000 audience in ballpark, that start from 10 July, set on hand spray and thermo-temperatures measuring device in stadium entrance.
On 4 March, the Japan High School Baseball Federation announced that the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament, scheduled to begin on 19 March, would take place without fans in attendance. However, on 11 March, the governing body of high school baseball in Japan declared that the tournament had been cancelled. The cancellation of the 2020 tournament marked the first time the contest had been cancelled since its establishment in 1924. The tournaments were not formally scheduled between 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.
According to JHSBF chairman Hideaki Hatta announced on 20 May, all games, including regional qualifying were cancelled on High School Baseball Tournament of Japan, that one of popular sports event in nation, since Second World War.

South Korea

Opening Day of the 2020 KBO League season was originally scheduled for 28 March 2020. The Korea Baseball Organization announced in March that all ten exhibition games would be cancelled. The league later decided that exhibition games would be played starting 21 April with no spectators. The start of the regular season would also take place with no spectators, on 5 May.

Taiwan

The Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League was scheduled to begin its 2020 season on 14 March. On 1 April, the league announced that opening day would take place on 11 April, without fans in attendance. Due to inclement weather on that date, games did not begin until 12 April. On May 9, the CPBL began admitting spectators.

North America

On 12 March 2020, Major League Baseball suspended all spring training activities. Opening Day of the season, scheduled for 26 March, was postponed, as was the start of the regular season for Minor League Baseball, which was to begin on 9 April. In addition, the Mexico Series and Puerto Rico Series games were canceled; the former would have featured the San Diego Padres playing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Mexico City's Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, and the latter featuring the New York Mets playing the Miami Marlins at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan. MLB also canceled the 2020 London Series games, which would have featured the Chicago Cubs playing the St. Louis Cardinals at London Stadium.
Also on 12 March, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced the suspension of its baseball season and cancellation of the 2020 College World Series. The NCAA further gave players a redshirt year without officially using a redshirt year. Seniors who would have exhausted their eligibility would not be charged a year.
On 30 April, the 2020 Little League World Series and its other associated tournaments were canceled, and with it, the 2020 MLB Little League Classic game between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles scheduled for 23 August in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Several summer collegiate baseball leagues were canceled entirely, while others postponed their starts from the beginning of June to the beginning of July. The Portland Pickles of the West Coast League announced that they would play without fans, while several other teams withdrew from their leagues entirely.
On 30 June 2020 Minor League Baseball was cancelled outright.
On 1 July, the 2020 Mexican Baseball League season was cancelled because of MiLB affiliations.
On 18 July, the Toronto Blue Jays were denied permission by the Canadian federal government to play their home games at the Rogers Centre. On 24 July, the Blue Jays announced they would play their home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo.
The 60 game 2020 Major League Baseball season began on 23 July with the New York Yankees at Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers. 17 members of the Miami Marlins tested positive for the coronavirus by 27 July and 11 games were postponed.

Basketball

Africa

The launch of the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League set for March 2020 was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. No new date has been announced.

Asia

The 2019–20 Chinese Basketball Association season was suspended on 1 February 2020. However, China Basketball Association chairman Yao Ming announced that the season will restart on June 20, without spectators.
On 14 February, FIBA ordered two qualifying games for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, Philippines vs Thailand in Quezon City, and Japan vs. China in Chiba to be postponed to a later date. This brought the postponed games to three, after FIBA earlier ordered the China vs. Malaysia game in Foshan to be postponed. Later that week, the Guam vs. Hong Kong game in Hagåtña was also postponed.
The Korean Basketball League canceled its 2019–20 season on 24 March, after playing its last game on 29 February. This comes as the Women's Korean Basketball League canceled its season a week before.
On 4 March, FIBA announced the cancellation of the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship in Beirut and the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship for Women in Canberra. It also postponed the 3x3 Olympic qualification tournament in Bangalore, and rescheduled the 2020 FIBA Asia 3x3 Cups in Changsha and the 2020 FIBA 3x3 Under-17 Asian Cup in Cyberjaya.
The 2019–20 season of the Super Basketball League in Taiwan continued despite the outbreak. When the Taiwanese government shut down all publicly-controlled arenas on 19 March, the league contemplated of shutting down as well, but ended up on holding all of its games at the HaoYu Basketball Training Center. No less than 100 people are in the arena at any time.

ASEAN Basketball League

Several fixtures of the ASEAN Basketball League 2019–20 season scheduled in February onwards were rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In early March 2020, four participating teams, Alab Pilipinas, Hong Kong Eastern, Macau Black Bears and Formosa Dreamers has released statements urging the suspension of the whole season due to logistical issues posed by COVID-19-related travel measures in Southeast Asia, mainland China and Taiwan. On 13 March 2020, the league's 2019–20 season was postponed indefinitely. On 15 July 2020, the league announced that it canceled the season, without a champion being named.

Philippines

The 2020 season of the Philippine Basketball Association and the PBA D-League was suspended indefinitely on 10 March 2020. The inaugural of the PBA's 3x3 tournament was also likewise delayed. The PBA management also imposed a two-week prohibition on team "practices, scrimmages and other related activities" which took effect on 14 March 2020.
Several leagues have suspended their tournaments on 12 March: Community Basketball Association, National Basketball League, Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
On 7 April 2020, the PBA Board of Governors have decided to shorten this season into a two-conference format following the postponement of the Philippine Cup due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the enforcement of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon until 30 April.

Europe

, CEO of the Euroleague, suspended the games from 14 March to 11 April. The Euroleague previously suspended the Eurocup. FIBA also suspended the Basketball Champions League and the FIBA Europe Cup starting on 14 March. Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia and Ukraine canceled outright their respective first division leagues, naming the teams in the top of the standings as champions. Top flight divisions in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Belgium, Finland, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Cyprus, and Czech Republic suspended its games as of 14 March. The Adriatic League and the VTB United League suspended its competitions until April.
The government of Turkey suspended the Basketball Super League on 19 March, the last major European league to do so.
On 6 June, the 2019-20 Basketball Bundesliga in Germany restarted with a ten-team closing tournament with the top teams invited.

North America

On 11 March 2020, the National Basketball Association suspended its season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus prior to tip-off for a scheduled game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Commissioner Adam Silver stated the next day that this suspension "will be most likely at least 30 days, and we don't know enough to be more specific than that".
On 12 March, all Division I conferences in college basketball canceled their respective tournaments in-progress. The Ivy League had already called off its tournament prior to the decision, while some conferences, as well as the NCAA for its men's and women's tournaments, had previously announced that they would conduct their games behind closed doors. The NCAA subsequently canceled its tournaments outright.
On 14 March, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional of Puerto Rico suspended its season.
On 23 March, National Basketball League of Canada suspended the remainder of the 2019–20 season.
On 3 April, the Women's National Basketball Association announced that they will have postponed the start of training camp and regular season which was originally scheduled for 15 May. The 2020 WNBA draft was held virtually and televised on 17 April 2020 without players, guests, and media on-site.
On 4 June, it was announced that the season would restart on 31 July for 22 teams still in playoff contention at the time of the suspension, and would finish no later than 12 October. Professional teams such as the Houston Rockets saw their seasons impacted as players like all-star Russell Westbrook tested positive for COVID-19.
On July 30, the 2019-20 NBA season officially resumed in the NBA Bubble.

Oceania

In Australia's National Basketball League, the 2020 NBL Finals between the Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats was played behind closed doors beginning with Game 2, and the NBL stated that it would be suspended immediately if any player was diagnosed.
After Game 3—trailing 2–1 in a best-of-five series—the Kings announced 17 March that they would withdraw from the Finals, due to "a critical mass of relevant and actual concerns related to player welfare and the club's social responsibility". The NBL had been considering playing Game 4 of the series on 18 March instead of 20 March as originally scheduled to accelerate its completion. On 18 March, the NBL declared the Perth Wildcats as champions by forfeit.

South America

canceled its season on 4 May due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Biathlon

The 2019–20 Biathlon World Cup ended a week and a day earlier than previously scheduled. The World Cup final in Norway was cancelled as was the last day of the penultimate World Cup in Finland.
Before the races in Finland and Norway, the World Cup races in Nové Město, Czech Republic, March 5–8, were held without spectators.

Bodybuilding

Several competitive events in international competitive bodybuilding on the amateur and professional levels have seen limitations, postponements, or even cancellations due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
Due to these concerns Ohio governor Mike DeWine reduced the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio on 3 March, before any cases or deaths had been reported in the state. The cancellation was widely regarded as 'radical' at the time. The Fitness Expo held the bodybuilding and physique competitions, including the Arnold Classic, without spectators with exceptions for parents and guardians of minors participating in the competitions. Similar Arnold Sports Festivals planned to be held in Africa, Australia, and South America were postponed for later in the year.
On 16 March 2020, Jim Manion, president of the IFBB Professional League and the National Physique Committee announced that competitions planned through to 10 May 2020 in the United States would be postponed for later in the year or canceled until the 2021 season.

Bowls

The 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship scheduled to be held on the Gold Coast from 23 May to 7 June 2020, has been postponed until 25 May to 6 June 2021.

Castells

In response to the shutdown of extracurricular activities for children in Catalonia, the Coordinadora de Colles Castelleres de Catalunya, the governing body for castells, issued a statement on 10 March 2020, recommending the suspension of all castells practices and performances. Subsequently, the lockdown imposed throughout Spain shut down all castells activities throughout Catalonia as of 15 March. The postponement to 2022 of the :ca:XXVIII Concurs de castells de Tarragona|Tarragona Castells Contest, scheduled for 3 and 4 October 2020, was finally announced on 15 July 2020.
According to the CCCC, the last April without any castells was in 1966.

Chess

The 44th Chess Olympiad scheduled to take place in Moscow, Russia from 5–17 August 2020 was postponed and rescheduled for the summer of 2021.
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020, held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, was suspended at the mid-point of the tournament on 26 March. FIDE decided to postpone the second half of the tournament after Russia announced it would be interrupting air traffic with other countries starting on 27 March.

Combat sports

Mixed martial arts

moved its 28 February "King of the Jungle" event behind closed doors, and announced that its ONE Infinity 1 event on 10 April would move from Chongqing, China to Jakarta, Indonesia. On 13 March, ONE announced that all cards would be held behind closed doors in Singapore until ONE Infinity 1 on 29 May, re-located to Manila, Philippines. The ONE Championship "Heart of Heroes" event in Vietnam was postponed to June. On 6 April, due to lockdown orders issued by the Singapore government that restrict non-essential business, ONE announced that the two April cards would be postponed.
On 9 March, Combate Americas announced that its March events would be cancelled and replaced by closed-door tapings beginning 3 April. On 10 March, Polish MMA promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki cancelled its 21 March 2020 event KSW 53 in Łódź. On 13 March, Bellator canceled Bellator 241 in Uncasville, Connecticut, and has since canceled all events through May.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The main North American promotion UFC went on with its 13 March event in Brasília, Brazil, behind closed doors. On 16 March, UFC announced that the next three UFC Fight Night events,,, and, would be postponed to future dates.
In regards to its next pay-per-view, UFC 249 on 18 April, UFC president Dana White stated that the event would likely go on, but at a new venue behind closed doors. It was originally to be held at New York City's Barclays Center, but a stay-at-home order was issued by the New York state government. On 18 March, the New York State Athletic Commission also withdrew its sanctioning for the event. Due to international travel restrictions and other withdrawals, a revised card for UFC 249 was unveiled 6 April with a location still being determined. On 7 April, White disclosed that he had booked an unspecified venue for two months, in order to host both UFC 249 and other future events involving U.S. fighters. He also disclosed plans to secure a private island to host events with international fighters.
The new UFC 249 venue was subsequently revealed to be Tachi Palace—a tribal casino in Lemoore, California; as it is on tribal land, it also fell outside of the jurisdiction of the California State Athletic Commission, meaning that events held there could be self-sanctioned. On 9 April, UFC announced that UFC 249 had been canceled, and all other UFC events would be suspended until further notice. White cited interventions from high-ranking staff of the UFC's U.S. media rightsholders, ESPN Inc. and parent The Walt Disney Company. The New York Post reported that Governor of California Gavin Newsom had contacted Disney chairman and former CEO Bob Iger, urging ESPN and the UFC to not hold the event. Despite the cancellation, White stated that he was still going on with his "Fight Island" project.
The UFC later announced on 24 April that it would resume its events with a series of three cards held behind closed doors at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, beginning with UFC 249 on 9 May, along with two other cards on 13 May and 16 May. Florida had recently exempted sporting events held behind closed doors for a national audience from its stay-at-home order. White also announced a planned card at an undetermined location on 23 May, and plans to begin events at his "Fight Island" in June. The Nevada Athletic Commission approved the hosting of on 30 May, and UFC 250 on 6 June, both at the company's UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.
On 9 June, White revealed that the "Fight Island" venue was Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which hosted UFC 251 on 11 July and will host three other UFC Fight Night cards. The area includes accommodations and training facilities, and a area restricted to fighters, coaches, and UFC staff.

Kickboxing

cancelled multiple events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glory cancelled events in Lint, Belgium and Miami, Florida.

Professional wrestling

Numerous promotions have canceled major events, such as Impact Wrestling's, Ring of Honor's 18th Anniversary Show, and the National Wrestling Alliance's Crockett Cup in the United States. Impact, ROH, and NWA also cancelled future tapings for their respective weekly television shows until further notice. In Mexico, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre cancelled tapings for their weekly shows for the foreseeable future and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide postponed the 2020 Rey de Reyes event. In Japan, DDT Pro-Wrestling cancelled their marquee event Wrestle Peter Pan 2020.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

In accordance with recommendations from the Japanese Ministry of Health, New Japan Pro-Wrestling decided to cancel all scheduled shows from 1 March through 15 March. On 10 March, NJPW announced that they were cancelling all shows through 22 March, which meant that they cancelled the 2020 New Japan Cup as well. The Stardom promotion, sister company of NJPW also owned by Bushiroad, also made adjustments to their scheduled, cancelling shows from 19 February to 14 March. Their 8 March show in Korakuen Hall was held without any spectators in attendance, instead streaming live on their YouTube channel. On 23 March, NJPW would later cancel the 2020 Sakura Genesis event that was originally scheduled to take place in on 31 March. On 8 April, NJPW would cancel more events from 11 April through 4 May, which mean both nights of 2020 Wrestling Dontaku were cancelled as well. On 6 May, NJPW cancelled their annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament. The next day, NJPW postponed their Wrestle Dynasty event to 2021, which was to take place in Madison Square Garden in New York. On June 9, NJPW announced their return with special show with mystery match card called Together Special on June 15 and the return of the New Japan Cup would now be held from June 16 until July 11, with the finals being held at Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka alongside Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall being rescheduled to July 12, 2020.

WWE

American promotion WWE began to move the broadcasts of its weekly programs SmackDown and Raw behind closed doors to its Orlando training facility, the WWE Performance Center, beginning with SmackDown on 13 March, with no audience and only essential staff in attendance. The promotion also postponed some of its upcoming house shows.
WrestleMania 36—WWE's flagship pay-per-view event—was originally scheduled to be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. On 16 March, WWE announced that it would also be produced from the Performance Center and air across two nights. WrestleMania Weekend's associated events, such as the card and WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony were also postponed to unannounced dates, though TakeOver was ultimately canceled with its planned matches moved to weekly episodes of NXT. Matches for WrestleMania, as well as the final two episodes of SmackDown and final episode of Raw before WrestleMania, were recorded in advance at the Performance Center between 21 and 26 March. While the majority of matches were filmed in Performance Center arena and presented plausibly live, two matches were filmed off-site in different, cinematic styles.
After continuing with pre-taped episodes for the go-home shows after WrestleMania, WWE announced that its weekly series would resume live broadcasts on 13 April, with Raw and SmackDown from the Performance Center as before, and NXT from its existing studio at Full Sail University in Winter Park. WWE told ESPN that "it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times", and that its programming "bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance". WWE also confirmed that one of its employees had contracted COVID-19 after a meeting with two health care workers on 26 March, but that the exposure occurred after production had wrapped; the employee had not made any contact with WWE staff since and they made a complete recovery. Wrestling journalists Dave Meltzer noted that WWE's television contracts with Fox and USA Network likely restricted the number of non-live episodes it could broadcast per-year.
WWE's next PPV, Money in the Bank, was expected to be held at Baltimore's Royal Farms Arena in May, but was canceled by the arena on 9 April. On 17 April, WWE announced that the show's eponymous Money in the Bank matches would take place at its world headquarters building in Stamford, Connecticut, with a new "corporate ladder" gimmick where the briefcases would be suspended above a ring on the building's roof; the wrestlers began on the ground floor of the building and fought their way to the roof. The rest of the event occurred live at the Performance Center.
On 9 April, Florida's Division of Emergency Management added an exemption to the state stay-at-home order for employees of a "professional sports and media production with a national audience", if closed to the general public. On 13 April, Mayor of Orange County Jerry Demings acknowledged the change during a news conference, stating that they were made following consultations with the office of Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, and that they would allow WWE to continue its operations. It was reported that WWE had received repeated warnings by state officials over the stay-at-home order, but that DeSantis considered the operation critical to the state economy, and accommodated them by allowing the aforementioned changes.
DeSantis acknowledged the changes the next day, explaining that viewers were "starved" for sports content, and that the new exception could also be theoretically used by other sporting events. The same day, U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he was forming an economic advisory group to address the country's emergence and "reopening" from the pandemic; WWE owner and chairman Vince McMahon was named to the group. McMahon has been an ally of Trump, who has also made appearances on WWE programming in the past, and is also a member of the celebrity wing of the company's Hall of Fame.

All Elite Wrestling

On 12 March, All Elite Wrestling announced the relocation of its two remaining live broadcasts of Dynamite on TNT for the month of March, scheduled for Rochester, New York and Newark, New Jersey respectively, to an alternative location with no audience. AEW stated that it had re-booked the two cities for future episodes in July. AEW subsequently cancelled on-location Dynamite broadcasts through at least 13 May.
Beginning on 15 March, AEW began to originate Dynamite from a closed stage at TIAA Bank Field's Daily's Place amphitheater in Jacksonville, Florida. Beginning with the 1 April episode, Dynamite moved to an undisclosed location to prevent fans from attempting to interact with the wrestlers; the location was later reported to be in Norcross, Georgia. On 3 April, after a state-wide stay-at-home order was issued, it was reported that AEW had also pre-recorded content for Dynamite on 1 and 2 April, and that they had amassed enough content "for weeks if not months if necessary."
AEW's next pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, was originally scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada on 23 May. The venue, however, canceled all events up through 31 May due to the pandemic. The event was subsequently moved to Daily's Place.

Sumo

Despite the March honbasho in Osaka taking place behind closed doors without a hitch, bar one wrestler having temporarily withdrawn from the tournament with a fever whilst undergoing tests; both the Natsu basho in May and Nagoya basho in July were initially postponed by two weeks on 4 April. The July tournament had been previously moved forward a week to avoid conflict with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which have since been postponed a year.
A week later, the Japan Sumo Association confirmed the sport's first case when an undisclosed wrestler in the lower ranks, was tested positive after developing a fever some six days earlier. This led to all wrestlers and officials being ordered to stay indoor until further notice.
Following the extension of Japan's national state of emergency until 31 May, the Sumo Association officially cancelled the May Grand Sumo Tournament on 4 May. It is the second cancellation of a basho since 1946, and the first since March 2011 amidst a match-fixing scandal.
The wrestler who caught the virus was later confirmed to be the Sandanme 11 wrestler Shobushi of Takadagawa stable, who passed away from multiple organ failure on 13 May.
The July tournament, originally to be held in Nagoya, was moved to Tokyo and began on July 19, with a maximum of 2500 spectators per day allowed, about a quarter of the Ryogoku Kokugikan's 11,000 capacity.

Cricket

Cross-country skiing

The 2020 Holmenkollen Ski Festival in Oslo, Norway, part of the 2019–20 FIS Cross-country World Cup, was held on March 7–8, without spectators in the stadium part of the Holmenkollen National Arena.
The final two events of the World Cup season, the 2020 Sprint Tour and the 2020 World Cup Finals, were cancelled on March 13 and March 10 respectively.

Curling

The curling season typically ends in May but was cut short by the pandemic, effectively ending in early March. The World Curling Federation cancelled the last five championships scheduled for the 2019–20 curling season, most importantly the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship, 2020 World Men's Curling Championship, and 2020 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.

Cycling

Road cycling

The 2020 UAE Tour was scheduled to run until 29 February, but was abandoned following stage five after two support staff tested positive for coronavirus. Of the following nineteen 2020 UCI World Tour races scheduled to take place up to 31 May, only Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Paris–Nice, which also had the final day of racing removed, took place at the intended time, some with the stated hope of taking place at a later date. The postponed races in this block include the 2020 Giro d'Italia and four of the five annual monuments, and many lower category races were also cancelled or postponed. Also races of the 2020 UCI Women's World Tour were cancelled or postponed.
On 15 March, UCI requested to suspend all UCI-sanctioned events in affected territories until 3 April, and the qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to stop retroactively as of 3 March. On 18 March, the suspension of events were extended at least until the end of April. On 1 April, the suspension was extended until 1 June, and on 15 April, it was extended until 1 July for the international races, and until 1 August for the UCI World Tour races.
On 14 April, the annual Tour de France was originally scheduled for 27 June – 19 July, but it was postponed due to the country's strict measures with the coronavirus as the government extended a ban on mass gatherings until July. As of 15 April, ASO and UCI plans it to take place from 29 August to 20 September. However, a virtual race is being conducted every weekend with bikers and teams racing against each other from their homes.
A revised calendar for both the men and the women was issued on 5 May, which was updated on 12 June.
On 15 July, the first UCI-sanctioned race after the suspension, Dookoła Mazowsza was commenced. The first UCI World Tour race after the suspension was Strade Bianche on 1 August, which was moved from its original schedule in March.
On 23 July, the GP de Québec and the GP de Montréal races scheduled for September in Quebec City and Montreal were cancelled.

BMX

Race days of the 2020 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup were cancelled including 2 to 3 May in Papendal, the Netherlands.
The 2020 UCI BMX World Championships, scheduled to take place in Houston, United States on 26–31 May, are postponed.

Other

The annual Cape Epic endurance race scheduled from 15 to 22 March was cancelled.

Darts

The Professional Darts Corporation's European Tour was impacted by the coronavirus; with the 2020 European Darts Grand Prix, the 2020 European Darts Open and the 2020 German Darts Grand Prix all being postponed following restrictions on gatherings implemented by federal governments in Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, respectively. The tournaments were officially cancelled on 29 May, with the PDC announcing the European Tour would downsize from the initial plan of thirteen events to five, including one from before the restrictions came in. The two 2020 Premier League Darts rounds to be held in Rotterdam at the end of March were postponed to September following restrictions on gatherings in the Netherlands; and the round to be held in Newcastle a week earlier was subsequently postponed to October. The next five rounds, in Belfast, Sheffield, Manchester, Berlin and Birmingham were also postponed to later dates, with the Sheffield dates now serving as the Play-Off Round. All ProTour events from 16 March to the end of June were postponed.
On 15 July it was announced that the 2020 Premier League Darts rounds which were to be held in Rotterdam, Birmingham, Belfast, Leeds and Berlin would be cancelled, and instead be played at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. As well, the Play-offs were shifted back to London. The 2020 World Matchplay was also relocated to Milton Keynes and held behind closed doors, rather than the usual venue of Blackpool. The 2020 Champions League of Darts was cancelled, and the PDC World Cup of Darts was postponed from June to November and moved from Hamburg, Germany to Graz, Austria.
The planned first event on the 2020 World Series of Darts, the US Darts Masters, was canceled for 2020, and the 2020 Nordic Darts Masters was postponed from June to October. The three Australian events The PDC's North American affiliate, the Championship Darts Corporation, cancelled the first weekend of its season in Ontario, and the New Zealand affiliate DartPlayers tour was ended for 2019/20 following the cancellation of events in Queenstown.

Disc golf

Esports

Impact of the pandemic on esports have primarily affected events and leagues that host competitions in-person, which have led to cancellations and postponements, and competitions being held behind closed doors—either in the traditional sense, or with competition being conducted entirely over the internet rather than in-person, with streaming broadcasts.
Sportcal suggested that the esports industry had an opportunity to attract mainstream sports fans as a "viable alternative" to traditional sporting events. Roundhill Investments CEO Will Hershey predicted that games that are straightforward for casual viewers to understand could see particular interest among this new audience.

Crossover with traditional sports

The suspension of sports competitions has allowed professional athletes to increase their involvement in video game streaming as a means to engage with fans. Esports organisations have also invited professional athletes to compete in specific competitions ; FaZe Clan organized a charity pro-am entitled "Fight 2 Fund" in support of coronavirus-related charities, where professional players were partnered with celebrity participants, and several sim racing competitions similarly invited professional race drivers.
Some sports teams have taken advantage of sports games in a similar manner, such as the Phoenix Suns holding NBA 2K20 streams with guest players, between the teams the Suns were scheduled to play that night if the season had continued. This culminated with a game actually being commentated by the team's radio broadcasters on team flagship KMVP-FM. Sports broadcasters have also taken advantage of esports as a form of replacement programming, with leagues partnering to hold televised tournaments in sports games featuring their players, or in some cases acquiring professional esports events to air on television.
The IndyCar Series and NASCAR announced partnerships with sim racing platform iRacing to hold online invitational events featuring series regulars. The inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event drew a television audience of 903,000 on Fox Sports 1—making it the most-watched esports broadcast on U.S. linear television since a 2016 Mortal Kombat X tournament aired by The CW. This record was surpassed the following week with a Texas Motor Speedway race — also aired by the main Fox network — which attracted 1.339 million viewers.

Fencing

On 3 March 2020, the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime issued its first bulletin on COVID-19 precautions. On 10 March FIE strongly recommended that all participants in its competitions fill and carry with them a questionnaire about their health status. On 12 March a FIE circular reported the postponement of six World Cup or Grand Prix competitions and the World Junior/Cadet Championship. Since the World Cup and Grand Prix events were part of the qualifications for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the circular warned on the need to postpone the zonal qualifications tournament for the Olympics. No news was given on other events, and their possible postponement or cancellation.
FIE reported on its web site the postponement of the Olympic Games, but hasn't yet given any information on the World Fencing Championships, which is supposed to happen in non-Olympic years, so there is a 2021 Championship planned, but not a 2020 Championship.
Individual countries had different decisions. For example, on 4 April the Federazione Italiana Scherma announced it was suspending all competitions until 31 August.

Field hockey

Many field hockey leagues in Europe have been suspended or curtailed, including in Spain, England, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The 2019–20 Euro Hockey League Final 8 and 2020 Euro Hockey League Women seasons were suspended on 12 March. The 2020 Men's EuroHockey Club Trophy I, 2020 Men's EuroHockey Club Trophy II, 2020 Boys' EuroHockey Youth Championships, and 2020 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships were cancelled.
In Asia, the 2020 Men's Hockey Junior Asia Cup, 2020 Women's Asian Champions Trophy, and 2020 Women's Hockey Junior Asia Cup were postponed. The 2020 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was originally postponed to 24 September. But on 2 May the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was officially cancelled.

Futsal

On 9 March 2020, FIFA and AFC announced that the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship in Ashgabat was postponed to 5–16 August.

Golf

Many elite golf tournaments, both professional and amateur, have either been postponed or canceled in response to the pandemic, including the major championships. On 13 March, it was announced that the Masters Tournament had been postponed. The 2020 PGA Championship was postponed the following week. On 6 April, The R&A announced the cancellation of the 2020 Open Championship, the first cancellation since World War II. This was soon followed by the USGA announcing the rescheduling of the 2020 U.S. Open from 18–21 June to 17–20 September and to 12–15 November for the Masters and 6–9 August for the PGA Championship. The ladies majors have been similarly affected, with the LPGA Tour postponing the ANA Inspiration until September.
On 12 March 2020, midway through the first round of the 2020 Players Championship, the PGA Tour announced that the remainder of the tournament and the next three events, the Valspar Championship, WGC Match Play, and the Valero Texas Open, would continue without fan attendance. Subsequently, after completion of the day's play, the tour decided to cancel the remainder of tournament and the three following events. On 17 March, the tour announced the cancellation of all scheduled tournaments through 10 May. The European Tour have also cancelled or postponed many tournaments, mostly those scheduled from mid-March through to the end of May, including the Irish Open, a Rolex Series event. The Ladies European Tour originally postponed the 2020 Evian Championship, originally scheduled for 23–26 July, to 6–9 August, but on 9 June announced that the tournament had been cancelled. The Women's British Open is still scheduled, despite the cancellation of its parent men's event.
Other leading professional tours have announced similar measures, as have the bodies responsible for organising leading amateur events. On 1 April, the R&A and the USGA jointly announced that the Curtis Cup was being postponed until 2021, and the British mens and womens amateur championships were being rescheduled from June to August. The LPGA Tour have canceled three tournaments and postponed five others including the ANA Inspiration, and the Japan LPGA Tour cancelled twelve tournaments scheduled from March into May.
On 16 April 2020, the PGA Tour announced a condensed schedule for a proposed resumption of play on 11 June with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. It aims to play most of the remaining tournaments of the 2019–20 season, concluding with the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the season-ending Tour Championship on Labor Day weekend, followed immediately by the beginning of the 2020–21 season with the Safeway Open. Officials planned the events behind closed doors, although most events were held at courses with residences and/or rental units, and residents were allowed to "attend" the events from their yards on their property, or in the case of the RBC Heritage, from boats traveling the Calibogue Sound. Spectators were expected to return for the Memorial presented by Nationwide, but on 14 July it was announced that the remaining tournaments of the 2019–20 season would be played behind closed doors. The extra delay was intended to give the Tour more time for preparations, as well as take advantage of weeks opened by the cancellation and postponements of majors and the Summer Olympics; only one of the three remaining majors—the PGA Championship—falls within the remainder of the 2019–20 season's schedule.
A charity skins game, TaylorMade Driving Relief, was held 17 May at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida, featuring Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff; televised by NBC and Golf Channel, it was the first televised event at Seminole, and the first in the United States since the suspension of PGA Tour play. A sequel to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson's 2018 match play event , The Match: Champions for Charity, was announced for 24 May in a simulcast across WarnerMedia Entertainment networks, with the two participating in a four-ball match at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, with NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as their respective partners.
With the affect of season on the USGA and Fox, the two parties agreed to end their contract immediately on June 29, 2020, and re-award USGA rights to Golf Channel, which will split the telecast between NBC and Golf Channel.
Recreational golf has also been affected, with many countries and regions ordering the closure of golf clubs and courses. To enforce social distancing, regulations may require golf clubs to stagger tee times or restrict how services such as pro shops and golf carts are used. In order to reduce physical contact with a commonly-touched surface, holes may be modified with an elevated rim or a tall foam cylinder blocking the hole itself, with a ball deemed to have been holed if the ball comes in contact with the raised rim or cylinder.

Greyhound racing

The 2020 English Greyhound Derby was postponed on 16 March. The Arena Racing Company tracks announced a behind closed doors policy from 24 March and racing in Ireland continued behind closed doors. Subsequently, all racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland was postponed until 1 June.
On 12 June it was announced that the 2020 English Greyhound Derby will be run on 31 October.

Gridiron football

Canadian football

CFL

On 12 March, the Canadian Football League announced the cancellation or modification of several pre-season events in response to the pandemic. Several scouting combines across Canada and the United States were cancelled, while other events such as rules committee meetings were held remotely. The CFL initially planned to hold both its International and National Drafts in April, but it was announced on 24 March that the Global Draft would be postponed indefinitely.
The 2020 regular season had originally been scheduled to begin on 11 June. On 7 April, Commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that the season would not begin until at least July. In a press statement, he announced that the CFL was exploring multiple options to ensure that the league will be able to play as close to a full season as possible. On May 20, Ambrosie announced that the season would begin no earlier than September, and the 108th Grey Cup festivities in Regina, Saskatchewan had been cancelled — with the game being hosted by home advantage instead. The league has explored the possible use of centralized "hub" cities, and has requested $30 million in financial assistance from the federal government, and up to $130 million in the event the 2020 season must be scrapped entirely.

University football

announced on 8 June 2020 that all fall semester national championships had been cancelled. This resulted in the cancellation of the Vanier Cup for the first time since its inception in 1965. Atlantic University Sport, Canada West, and Ontario University Athletics all announced that fall semester competition would be cancelled for the season, including football.

American football

NFL

The National Football League has been in its off-season since Super Bowl LIV in early February. Experts acknowledged that the San Francisco 49ers' loss in Super Bowl LIV may have averted early community transmission in California via post-game celebrations and victory parades.
On 12 March, various NFL teams began to suspend travel by their coaches and player scouts, while the league itself had advised its non-critical staff to work from home. The league will not allow teams to re-open their facilities until restrictions are sufficiently lifted in all U.S. states that contain NFL teams.
The pandemic had an impact on the 2020 NFL Draft; draft-eligible players were prohibited by the league from travelling to meet team personnel, and vice versa. The draft went on as scheduled, but public festivities in Las Vegas were canceled, and the draft switched to a remote format where team staff convened from home, with all 32 teams being linked to each other and league staff via Microsoft Teams and other communication software. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the first-round picks from his home in Bronxville, New York. The NFL hosted a charity appeal throughout the draft, supporting aid-related charities. During the broadcast, Goodell announced that Las Vegas would instead host the 2022 NFL Draft.
The NFL released its regular season schedule for the season on 7 May. While the league intends to play its full season as scheduled, the schedule was formulated so that two weeks of games from the 16-week schedule could be removed without repercussions and Super Bowl LV could be delayed to late February in the event the start of the season has to be delayed to late-October. This follows a blueprint from the season, in which a lockout threatened the season. In addition, the league had to work around the and The Masters, which was postponed to November, in order to avoid a broadcasting conflict on CBS. Due to logistical issues associated with the pandemic, the NFL suspended its international games in London and Mexico City for the season.
On 25 June, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys scheduled for August 6 would be postponed to August 2021. In addition, the ceremony for the five "modern era" inductees will be consolidated with the 2021 class to be announced prior to Super Bowl LV. A separate "Centennial Class" of 15 members was to be inducted on September 18; that ceremony has yet to be rescheduled.
Whether fans will be allowed to attend games will be on a case-by-case basis, dependent on local regulations. Fox Sports' lead NFL commentator Joe Buck stated that the network already had plans to employ simulated crowds on its telecasts, including sound effects and the possibility of using computer-rendered spectators to provide the illusion of a filled stadium.
On 10 July, the National Football League Players Association said that 72 NFL players, or 2.5 percent of players on rosters had tested positive for COVID-19.

College football

On 1 June, the NCAA began allowing players to begin voluntary on-campus team activities ; cases began to emerge among players and staff afterward. By 24 June, it was reported that at least 37 schools of schools in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision — the highest level of competition in U.S. college football — had reported positive cases among student-athletes or staff.
In July 2020, the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference — two of the "Power Five" conferences in Division I FBS — announced that if fall sports and the 2020 season were played, all games would be played against conference opponents only. Other Power Five conferences have been expected to potentially follow suit. In the second level of Division I football, the Football Championship Subdivision, the Colonial Athletic Association, Ivy League MEAC, and Patriot League have cancelled all fall semester sports.
The FBS independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish cancelled its Emerald Isle Classic game in Ireland against Navy, rescheduling it at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It also saw three marquee games cancelled due to the Big Ten and Pac-12 restrictions, including a long-running rivalry game against USC); Notre Dame's head coach Brian Kelly stated that the team was evaluating alternatives, and hinted at the possibility of playing additional games against trams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, where Notre Dame is a member outside of football and ice hockey.

XFL

On 12 March, the XFL announced the suspension of the 2020 season, with all players to be paid their base pay and benefits for the full 2020 regular season; the season was officially canceled on 20 March, with half of its ten-week regular season schedule played. On 10 April, the league announced that it would suspend all operations and lay off all but a few critical executives, and said it was unlikely a 2021 season would be organized and played, with those executives remaining to wind down the league's business and operations after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing three days later.

Gymnastics

Multiple international artistic gymnastics competitions, many of which were Olympic qualifying events, were either canceled or postponed. On March 13, after already having completed qualifications, the Baku World Cup canceled its event finals. The Stuttgart, Birmingham, and Tokyo World Cups were all postponed to 2021. The European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships were both canceled. The Pacific Rim Championships was postponed until 2021.

Handball

The 25–29 March, 2020 European Women's Handball Championship qualification matches in Rotterdam, the Netherlands were cancelled.

Horse racing

Horse racing is one sport that has been less directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic than most others; some countries and regions never stopped operating horse racing events, and racing was one of the first sports to be resumed in other regions.
In the early stages of the outbreak, most horse racing events remained scheduled as normal, but with restricted attendance at racecourses. This included Hong Kong, France, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United States, Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, and Singapore.
The Macau Jockey Club suspended racing events from 31 January to 15 February and resumed racing from 22 February. The Korea Racing Authority suspended horse racing from 8 March. Sunland Park Racetrack in the United States canceled its race meeting from 16 March, which included the Sunland Derby, part of the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby. Many tracks in North America followed suit over the following weeks, although some remained open depending on state-by-state decisions. In Britain, although the Cheltenham Festival proceeded as normal in mid-March, the Grand National meeting at Aintree in April was cancelled. By mid-March Ireland had become the only major horse racing country in Europe where the sport continued, albeit strictly regulated and behind closed doors. Ireland finally closed down racing on 25 March until at least 19 April.
Churchill Downs announced that the 2020 Kentucky Derby, normally the first leg of the American Triple Crown, would be delayed to 5 September; this cascaded to the Preakness Stakes, with the Maryland Jockey Club delaying their race to 3 October. The Belmont Stakes, normally the third leg, was run at a shortened distance of miles on 20 June as the first leg.
On 22 March, it was announced that the Dubai World Cup, due to celebrate its 25th anniversary running on 28 March, had been cancelled.
On 7 April, Jockey Club Racecourses announced that the first four Classics of the British flat racing season – the 2000 and 1000 Guineas, scheduled to be held on 2–3 May, and the Epsom Oaks and Derby, scheduled to be held on 5–6 June – would be postponed until later in the season. Ascot Racecourse also announced that Royal Ascot, scheduled to be held from 16–20 June, would take place behind closed doors if it gets the go-ahead.
Some horsemen are limited from traveling to other racecourses or horse racing facilities under horse racing organizations. Hong Kong-based jockey Keith Yeung felt unwell on 22 March night, but his test for COVID-19 PCR was negative. On 26 March, it was announced that American-based jockey Javier Castellano had tested positive.
Some stakes races prize money were reduced. In Randwick Racecourse, Racing NSW announced all Group One and some Group two races in The Champions meeting prize reduced 50%. Inglis Easter Yearlings Sales are many others horse auction held at fully online. While France Galop resume racing form 11 May, but their prize money dropped by 20-40%. All Royal Ascot Group One races prize money are reduced to 250,000 GBP only.
In the U.S., horse racing gained an increased following as a form of live sports content on television, with efforts by the New York Racing Association and TVG Network to try and attract new viewers and customers for off-track betting at tracks still in operation, and several mainstream sports channels picking up simulcasts of racing to help fill schedules. Simulcasts also increased the prominence of lesser-known venues such as Fonner Park in Grand Island, Nebraska — which saw its average daily parimutuel handle surpass its previous single-day record of US$1.2 million on a regular basis
;Cancelled race meetings and reopenings
;;United States and Canada
;;Worldwide
;Meetings that remained open

International

The IIHF Women's World Championship, IIHF World Championship Division IV and Women's Ice Hockey World Championships were all cancelled by the International Ice Hockey Federation due to the coronavirus. The federation also cancelled the 2020 event of one of its two official junior world championship tournaments, the IIHF World U18 Championship. On 21 March, IIHF publicly announced that the senior men's world championships had also been cancelled.
Cancelled tournaments:
As a result of the German government's ban on large events, the Deutsche Eishockey Liga announced on March 10 that it would cancel the remainder of its season, marking the first time in the league's history a champion would not be crowned. The top four teams at the time of the cancellation — EHC Red Bull München, Adler Mannheim, Straubing Tigers, and Eisbaren Berlin — would advance to the Champions Hockey League.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Association suspended all remaining hockey, the playoffs and qualification rounds, in the Swedish elite leagues on March 15; no awarding of the Le Mat Trophy for the 2019/20 season nor transference of teams from the leagues' qualification plays for the 2020/21 season will happen as a result.
Cancelled or ended leagues:
In early March 2020, the National Hockey League suspended media access to the locker rooms, saying that only official personnel would be allowed in after the games to limit person-to-person contact. On March 12, the NHL, American Hockey League, the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League, the USHL, and ECHL announced that their 2019–20 seasons would be indefinitely suspended.
On March 12, the National Women's Hockey League postponed its Isobel Cup Final game indefinitely.
The ECHL announced on March 14 that the remainder of the season would be cancelled. The leagues of the CHL announced on March 18 that they would cancel the remainder of their regular seasons. On March 23, the CHL confirmed that all playoffs and the 2020 Memorial Cup were cancelled.
Hockey Canada, the governing body for amateur hockey in the country, cancelled the remainder of its season on March 12. This included national championships such as the Telus Cup and Esso Cup, as well as all regional and provincial playoffs, the Canadian Junior Hockey League playoffs, and the 2020 Centennial Cup.
On May 11, the AHL announced the cancellation of the 2019–20 AHL season.

Lacrosse

The National Lacrosse League temporarily suspended the 2020 season on March 12.
The NCAA officially announced the cancelation of the 2020 College Lacrosse Season on March 12. Beginning with the Ivy League canceling its season on March 11, the NCAA followed canceling all spring season championships. Due to the cancelation of the season, the NCAA voted and approve the allocation of an extra year of eligibility for all of the athletes that missed their spring season.
The Premier Lacrosse League announced the postponement of the start of the 2020 season on 10 April. The League announced the modified season that would take place called the on 6 May. The series will run from July 25 through August 9th, with the teams being quarantined and playing in absence of fans. The 7 teams will compete in a 14 game round-robin format to determine the standings for a single elimination tournament to determine the champion of the 2020 PLL Season.

Motorsport

Poker

As of 18 March most casinos and other gaming venues worldwide have been closed indefinitely, and many upcoming live poker tournaments have been either postponed, canceled, or moved to an online platform. Tournaments originally scheduled to be played live are now being played online, including the 2020 Irish Poker Open.
On 20 April, the 2020 World Series of Poker was postponed.
The pandemic has resulted in a massive increase in online poker traffic. It is believed to have directed both professional and recreational players who normally prefer live poker to online platforms due to the indefinite closure of most casinos and other live gaming venues worldwide, with even many unlicensed venues shutting down. In addition, the sudden dearth of live entertainment options due to the widespread disruption of the sports and entertainment schedules around the world is believed to have resulted in more than the usual number of casual players turning to online poker as an alternative. Many operators reported traffic of double or more the previous volume, depending on the time of day.

Real Tennis

The 2020 Real Tennis World Championship, scheduled to be held at Prested Hall in Feering, Essex, United Kingdom was postponed on March 12, 2020 to October 2020 due to bans on indoor gatherings and sport and international travel restrictions. The championships were further postponed to May 2021. Additionally, other major tournaments including the 2020 French Open and Champions Trophy were cancelled outright.

Rodeo

The 2020 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was canceled on its ninth day after a festival attendee was diagnosed positive with the virus.

Rowing

Four Olympic qualification regattas were cancelled, including the final qualification event scheduled to be held in Lucerne, Switzerland, from 17 to 19 May. All three events of the 2020 World Rowing Cup were also cancelled.
The Boat Race 2020, due to take place on the River Thames in London on 29 March, was cancelled.

Rugby league

The Australian/New Zealand National Rugby League was scheduled to continue with no spectators permitted in the stadiums; however, the entire season was suspended indefinitely on 23 March 2020. In line with an overall easings of restrictions in Australia, plans were announced which would see the season restarted from approximately 28 May.
The NRL season recommenced on May 28 with a round 3 game played in Brisbane between the Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta Eels. The match was played behind closed doors without any crowd, although the broadcasters used fake crowd noise during the broadcast. The return match rated highly on TV as it was the first TV match of a team sport in Australia for 8 weeks.
In the northern hemisphere, Super League and the Rugby Football League's Championship and League 1 suspended their seasons until 3 April as a result of the spread of coronavirus. This was later revised to 2 August for Super League, whilst the Championship and League 1 were cancelled. The 2020 Kangaroo tour of England, which was scheduled to include three test matches between England and Australia in October and November, was cancelled on 1 June.

Rugby union

Europe

At the end of February and start of March, the 2020 Six Nations Championship saw all games against Italy postponed due to the worsening situation in that country, with games against the Scotland women's team also cancelled as one of the players tested positive and the team went into isolation. By 13 March, the competition had been suspended until late October. On 12 March, the Pro14 European rugby competition was suspended until 22 August.

North America

On 12 March, Major League Rugby suspended its third season for 30 days. The League later announced, on 18 March, that the season had been scrapped.

Oceania

In the 2020 Super Rugby season, two fixtures of Japanese team Sunwolves had been moved to Australia from Japan, while Australia announced on 12 March that beginning in the next round of fixtures, all matches held in Australia would be played with no spectators, but otherwise continue as normal. However, on 14 March, New Zealand announced that it will require 14 days self-isolation for any person that arrives in the country from outside of the Pacific Islands, regardless of origin and including New Zealand citizens. League organizer SANZAAR stated that it was evaluating the impact of this restriction, and ultimately announced later in the day that the season would be suspended following the completion of the weekend's fixtures.
Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby announced that they would play regional tournaments beginning in July and June respectively — Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa — between local teams who play in Super Rugby, to supplant the suspended season. The Sunwolves were prevented from competing in Super Rugby AU by the government, leading to the team disbanding on 1 June 2020. Super Rugby Aotearoa games are being held with no spectator restrictions, as New Zealand had lifted most restrictions on 8 June due to there having been no active cases and no new cases in the prior 17 days. Entry restrictions to New Zealand remain in force.

Shooting

The 2020 ISSF World Cup, which was to commence on 15 March in New Delhi, was postponed. The Olympic Test Event in Tokyo, originally scheduled for April 2020, was also canceled.
The 2020 European Shotgun Championships was cancelled.

Short track speed skating

The 2020 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea scheduled 13–15 March were canceled. The International Skating Union initially announced they were trying to reschedule the tournament to the beginning of the 2020–21 season but couldn't find a spot in the calendar.

Snooker

The 2020 Gibraltar Open and its qualifying rounds took place from 11 to 15 March. For the first day, there was a limit of 100 spectators per session. On the remaining days, there were no spectators. A significant number of players withdrew, and there was a shortage of referees, with some early matches played without referees.
The 2020 Tour Championship, originally scheduled for 17 to 22 March, was postponed until 20 to 26 June.
The 2020 China Open, originally scheduled for 30 March to 5 April, was indefinitely postponed.
The 2020 World Snooker Championship, originally scheduled 18 April to 4 May, has been postponed until 31 July.
The 2020 World Women's Snooker Championship, originally scheduled 22 to 27 June, has been postponed.

Speedcubing

The World Cube Association announced on 19 March that all upcoming speedcubing competitions were to be canceled up to 19 April. This was later extended until 31 May. This included the cancellation of the biennual European and Asian Championships. An estimated 250+ competitions were affected by the pandemic.

Squash

The 2020 European Squash Individual Championships, scheduled to take place in Eindhoven, the Netherlands from 29 April to 2 May are canceled.

Surfing

The 2020 World Surf League, which was due to start in Australia on 26 March, was on hold until at least June. The first event of the season, the Corona Open Gold Coast, was canceled, while the second and third events, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and Margaret River Pro, were postponed. On 17 July it was announced that the 2020 season would be cancelled.
The 2020 ISA World Surfing Games, scheduled to be held from 9 to 17 May in El Salvador, were postponed until 8 to 16 May 2021.

Swimming

The YMCA Short Course Nationals swim meet is canceled in the United States for the first time since 1947.

Table tennis

The 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships, which was scheduled to be held from 22–29 March in Busan, South Korea, was postponed to 27 September – 4 October.
The 2020 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup was scheduled to be held from 28 February to 1 March in Hainan, China, but was postponed until later in the year.
Seven events on the 2020 ITTF World Tour have also been either cancelled or postponed, including the China Open and the Japan Open. Four Olympic qualifying events, scheduled to be held in April, were also postponed.

Tennis

In one of the first major U.S. sport cancellations of the pandemic, the 2020 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California was postponed on 8 March 2020 as a precautionary measure, with organizers stating they planned to seek a new date. On 12 March, Mayor of Miami Carlos A. Giménez ordered the cancellation of the Miami Open pursuant to the state of emergency in Miami-Dade County.
On 12 March, the ATP announced that in response to the aforementioned cancellations among others, they would suspend events for at least six weeks. The International Tennis Federation also suspended play through at least 20 April, and the WTA canceled WTA Tour events through 12 April. On 16 March, the WTA suspended play through 2 May.
On 16 March, the start of the 2020 French Open was postponed from 24 May to 20 September, and the ATP and WTA jointly announced that their suspension of play had been extended through 7 June. On 1 April, Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II, while the ATP and WTA announced that their suspension will be extended through 13 July. On 15 May, the suspension was extended through 3 August.
Several exhibition tennis competitions with modified rules emerged in the wake of the pandemic, including the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Nice, France, and the Adria Tour — an attempted series of tennis events in Southeast Europe organized by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The latter received notability for not restricting attendance, and was ultimately halted before the finals of its second leg in Serbia after Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for COVID-19. Multiple players involved — involving Djokovic himself — also contracted the virus.
On 16 April, the United States Tennis Association announced the formation of an advisory group to evaluate whether the US Open would be played, with plans expected to be announced by June. USTA chief Mike Dowse stated that it was "highly unlikely" the tournament would be played behind closed doors, since it was "not really in the spirit of the celebration of tennis, and it also goes back to the health and wellbeing of our players and support staff that help run the tournament". He added that "on one sense we're very fortunate that we are the fourth Grand Slam to go, so time is on our side at this point." The state of New York, and especially the tournament's host, New York City, saw the largest initial impact of the pandemic in the United States.
On 16 June 2020 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that it had authorised the U.S. Open to be played in New York on its original dates, subject to safety protocols developed by the USTA and being closed to spectators. It was also announced that to reduce travel, the preceding Cincinnati Masters would be re-located to the same venue as the US Open, with both tournaments held over consecutive weeks. The next day, the 2020 Canadian Open was cancelled in full, tentatively leaving the WTA International Palermo Ladies Open, and the ATP 500/WTA International Washington Open as the first two post-resumption events. On 21 July, it was announced that the Washington Open had been cancelled. Two days later, the ATP and WTA cancelled all upcoming tournaments in China, in respect of a moratorium by the General Administration of Sport on most international events in the country through the end of 2020.

Triathlon

The World Triathlon Executive Board, met via teleconference this Friday morning, has decided to extend the suspension of all activities of the International Federation until June 30, due to the current situation worldwide with the COVID-19 outbreak. This suspension includes WTS Yokohama, three African cups, three American events, four Asian cups, one event in Oceania and eight in Europe, plus the Yokohama Paratriathlon Series and Paratriathlon World Cup.

Ultimate

On 24 March, the World Flying Disc Federation announced to cancel or postpone all world championships over the next six months. This included the World Ultimate and Guts Championships, World Junior Ultimate Championships and the World Masters Ultimate Championships due to the rapid spread of coronavirus.North America's national body for ultimate, USA Ultimate, also canceled all scheduled club and college tournaments as well as the suspension of the semi-professional league, the AUDL, from commencing the 2020 season.

Volleyball

On 12 March, The National Collegiate Athletic Association cancelled the Spring 2020 men's volleyball championships due to concern over the coronavirus.
On 13 March, the International Volleyball Federation decided to postpone the Nations League for men and women until after the 2020 Summer Olympics caused by the outbreak of coronavirus. On 8 May, the FIVB announced that the Nations League competitions were cancelled.

Water polo

International

The 2020 Women's Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament was scheduled to take place in Trieste, Italy, 8–15 March 2020. On 28 February 2020, International Swimming Federation announced that the tournament would be postponed to 17–24 May due to the coronavirus outbreak, then it was moved again to 17–24 January 2021 due to the outbreak in the country.
On 12 March, FINA announced that several international water polo tournaments would be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 Men's Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament due to take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 22–29 March, would be postponed to 31 May – 7 June, then it was postponed again to 21–28 February 2021. The 2020 FINA Men's Water Polo World League and 2020 FINA Women's Water Polo World League would be postponed to September–October 2020.

Asia

, the Asian continental qualification for the 2020 Olympic water polo tournament, was scheduled to take place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 12–16 February 2020. In late January the event was canceled as the Kazakh Government suspended all flights and visas from China due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in the country. In mid-February Asia Swimming Federation decided to use the final ranking of the 2018 Asian Games to allocate its continental quotas.

Europe

On 28 February 2020, European Swimming League announced that the match of 2019–20 LEN Champions League Day 10 between Ferencváros and Pro Recco, and the match of 2019–20 LEN Euro Cup semifinal between Egri VK and AN Brescia would be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
On 11 March 2020, LEN announced that all eight matches of 2019–20 LEN Champions League Day 11, the second leg of the 2019–20 LEN Euro League Women quarter-finals, and the 2020 men's U19 European Championships qualification tournaments would be postponed to later dates due to the coronavirus pandemic.

North America

On 11 March 2020, the USA Water Polo announced that the 2020 ODP Girls National Water Polo Championship would be postponed, and the exhibition matches scheduled to be played on 19–21 March 2020 in California between United States and Spain men's national water polo teams would be canceled.
On 16 March 2020, USAWP announced that the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III Women's National Championship scheduled for 8–10 May 2020 in Southern California would be rescheduled for May 2021; and week three of the 2020 National Water Polo League and the 2020 National League Championship/Fisher Cup would be canceled.

Oceania

On 16 March 2020, the Water Polo Australia announced that the 2020 Australian National Water Polo League would be terminated, the 2020 WPA National Championships scheduled to take place in Adelaide, South Australia in May would be canceled, and the 2020 Open Championships scheduled to take place in the Gold Coast, Queensland in May would be postponed.

Footnotes