KUALA LUMPUR– The Sports Industry Coalition (SIC) has extended its gratitude to the government for the reopening of mass participation sporting events in areas under Phrase Three of the National Recovery Plan (PPN).
The group which represents the majority of mass participation sporting event industry players in the country, said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused sporting events across the globe to come to an unexpected halt, resulting in massive financial losses and uncertainty over the future of the industry.
SIC in a statement today said the industry players such as event organisers, service providers, suppliers as well as related manufacturers were affected, with their earnings taking a nosedive to zero income since the beginning of the pandemic.
The permission is considered as a welcome reprieve and would provide much-needed breathing space for the mass participation sports industry players who have lost their source of income.
The Regional Director of World Endurance Malaysia CG Lim, the organisers of Ironman events in the country, thanked the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) and its Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu for his support to the industry.
“Although reopening will be a slow and steady process, and will appropriately vary across the country, this is a small step in the right direction not only for the sports industry but for the entire country,” he said.
According to SIC, mass participation sporting events in 2019 attracted over 4.2 million participants, including inbound travellers supporting the sports tourism sector, contributing over RM550 million in economic impact.
But it claimed that in a survey conducted among its members, over 90 per cent of these events were postpone or cancelled, resulting in an unprecedented economic loss of over 95 per cent in revenue and a major reduction of 85 per cent in total workforce in 2020.
Formed on March 18, SIC consists of 75 industry players which include event organisers, service providers as well as related manufacturers and suppliers who make up the members of the coalition.
According to the latest sports and recreational standard operating procedures (SOP) updated on Sept 9, mass sporting events with no more than 250 participants are allowed in phase three of the PPN with approval from the KBS.
— BERNAMA