18 May 2009(Mon)

* Updated at 8.55pm on Monday to reflect announcement by Gamba Osaka

 

Despite being mainly confined so far to the two prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo, 130 confirmed cases of swine influenza currently makes Japan the nation most heavily afflicted by the potential new pandemic anywhere outside of Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The geographically localised nature of the infection’s spread has put authorities throughout the Kansai region on high alert, with a number of offices and schools – including the world-renowned Osaka University – making the decision to close for the week in the hope of stopping the situation from getting any worse.

 

Inevitably, in an industry that depends on thousands of supporters huddled together in close quarters, the region’s football clubs are no exception to the current concern. In a case of terribly unfortunate timing, all three teams near the affected areas – Gamba Osaka, Cerezo Osaka, and Vissel Kobe – are scheduled to play at home next weekend, and all are closely monitoring the situation in tandem with the J. League and local authorities, with postponements thought to be a real possibility. Vissel have already closed their soccer school and other fan services for the week, while Gamba have the additional, immediate concern of a home match against FC Seoul in the AFC Champions League this Wednesday to contend with. Despite press speculation that the game could be played behind closed doors, Gamba did announce late on Monday that it would go ahead as planned, but the club has cancelled its usual array of fan club and other matchday events, and issued a lengthy list of special health and safety measures to which spectators must adhere.

 

In Mexico, all four quarter-finals in the Clausura Liguilla league playoffs went ahead as scheduled this past weekend, but fear surrounding swine influenza has already forced its two guest representatives in South America’s Copa Libertadores – Guadalajara and San Luis – to surrender their places in the tournament’s last sixteen. The two sides’ matches had originally been relocated to Bogota before Colombian authorities vetoed the move, and Chile’s refusal to step in as a replacement left them both with nowhere to turn. Their plight was hardly helped by the infamous actions of defender Hector Reynoso in Guadalajara’s group match with Everton of Chile late last month – Reynoso spat in the face of Everton forward Sebastian Penco, before suggesting to his opponent that he had passed on the virus with it.

 

The closure of schools and other disruption in Japanese cities almost 9,000 miles away from Mexico undoubtedly makes the potential pandemic far more real in the eyes of local residents than faraway TV news images ever could. But while it would certainly be a shame if fans were forced away from Gamba’s top-of-the-table clash with J1 leaders Kashima Antlers on Sunday, or indeed any of the other matches taking place across the region this week, one hopes that the health-conscious public will retain its sense of perspective. Swine influenza is considered less deadly than the seasonal flu – not to be confused, as many do, with the common cold – that many of us will have contracted at some point in our lives anyway, while at the same time, a little hassle at some football matches is a small price to pay if we can help nip these infections in the bud.