LETTERS:IN June and July, three major tournaments were scheduled — the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup in the United States and the West Indies, the Euro 2024 in Germany, and the Copa America in the US. Sports spectators are not only spoilt for choice, but due to the clashing dates and fixtures are caught in a quandary.
As these tournaments are mostly played at night, Malaysian fans find it difficult to adjust between work and watching these games due to the vast time difference.
Cricket and soccer have billions of fans and supporters, and international sports associations such as Fifa and the International Cricket Council need to coordinate their international tournaments for maximum viewership and to increase advertisement and sponsorship revenues.
Clashing sports schedules are sure to reduce the number of viewers and, subsequently, advertisement and sponsorship revenues, which are crucial in the present era due to high salaries, prize money and other costly incidentals.
So it is important that sports organisations and federations cooperate and coordinate for a win-win situation.
Sports enthusiasts are interested in various sports. This increases their dilemma as to which tournament to view and concentrate on.
One is perplexed as to why Fifa has to hold the Euros and Copa America at the same time. In the case of the Euros, understandably UEFA needs to take advantage of the European summer to hold the tournament. However, why should Latin America, which does not have any distinct seasons like Europe, have the Copa clash with the Euros?
International sports authorities need to relook their schedule and adjust to ensure no clashing of major tournaments.
V. THOMAS
Sungai Buloh, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times