The study, by the business advisory group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), projects that growth in the sector will fall by more than half over the next three-to-five years from an annual rate of eight per cent in recent times to just 3.3 per cent.

The slowdown would be more abrupt but for the relatively buoyant sports betting segment which is benefiting from the recent opening of the potentially huge United States market. 

Based on responses from several hundred executives around the world, the survey estimates that the present crisis will lead to revenue shortfalls of between 30 and 40 per cent.

It is clear, moreover, that many executives think the pandemic, which has now claimed the lives of more than one million people, could lead to drastic and permanent changes, with the traditional pyramidal system of European sport widely judged to be under threat and fans expected by some to delay returning to mass events even once restrictions are lifted.

On a more positive note, esports are judged to have emerged as the "big winner" of the lockdown period.

"In general, our study shows that the prevailing pessimism is cut by the many opportunities brought about by the crisis," said David Dellea, head of PwC's sports business advisory.

He went on: "This situation may favour the emergence of changes that have long been considered but never achieved to their full extent, whether it be hybrid sports, new revenue streams, drastic governance reforms or enhanced collaborative models."

A full analysis of the study can be read here.

The study itself is here.