Adelaide Footy League CEO John Kernahan pushes for player payments to be cut across the board
As community football aims to get back to its feet over the next few months, the Adelaide Footy League is leading the charge for a statewide cut on player payments this season.
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South Australia’s largest community football league is calling for a statewide cut on match payments to help keep clubs alive as some local players offer to tear up their own contracts.
The Adelaide Footy League has lobbied the SANFL to reduce or abolish what teams can spend on players in 2020 with the suspension of the season putting clubs under financial pressure.
The SANFL, which controls community football in SA, surveyed the state’s 25 metropolitan and country leagues on the issue this week.
Under the salary cap, country clubs can pay players up to $3500 per week while the Adelaide Footy League’s limit is set at $3000.
Chief executive John Kernahan said the metropolitan competition, formerly known as the SA Amateur Football League, would push for player payments to be cut significantly across the board.
He also said it would be difficult for clubs to seek financial relief from councils and utility providers while spending money on players.
“We make no apology in advocating that season 2020 and even 2021 are going to be years to consolidate financially,” Kernahan said.
“On any given Saturday or Sunday per cent of football participants take the field for the love of the game but anecdotal information to date is most players at our level are appreciative of where we are as a football community and need to be realistic.
“We have been buoyed by examples of players who have approached their clubs as a collective to tear up playing contracts to offer their club some clear air.
“If AFL and SANFL players have taken a cut, that ideology should cascade into community footy too.”
The AFL has recommended an immediate 50 per cent reduction on player payment caps for the 2020 season at local level.
SANFL head of community football Tom Hurley said there would need to be further and detailed consultation with clubs and affiliated leagues before any decision was made.
But initial anecdotal feedback showed general desire to review the salary cap.
“In South Australia there has already been significant change and important alignment with the statewide introduction of the salary cap in 2016, in that respect we are in a considerably different position to other states,” Hurley said.
“That being said, as we understand and deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, broad consideration needs to be given to player payments to help ensure the survival and ongoing sustainability of community football clubs in 2020 and beyond.
“Ultimately, our goal is to ensure the ongoing viability of every football club in South Australia – player payments will be one aspect considered as part of a broader approach to underpin the strength and sustainability of community football.”
Hurley said the SANFL hoped to make a detailed announcement about community football and the state league’s return to play next week.
All leagues in SA were suspended until at least June.
Footy: It’s about so much more
For Goodwood Saints skipper Lou Whitelock, it’s not just about returning to the field on a Saturday.
And it’s definitely not about the money.
It’s about reigniting the spirit, mateship and joy a local footy club brings to so many in the community.
“It’s the community side of this football club that is so important to a lot of people,” Whitelock said.
“Many rely on the relationships at this footy club to get through weekends and get through tough times.
“It’s as much a social thing as it is a genuine love for football, it’s much more than having a kick on a Saturday.
“It’s good to get out there and win games and have fun but it’s so important to see your mates through that time and build those relationships within the community.
“The senior female teams were going to start this year, too.
“It will mean a lot to a lot of people when footy comes back.”
To support the return of amateur footy at Goodwood, as South Australia works its way through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saints players will do whatever they can.
Soon after the season was suspended, the leadership group approached the board to confirm there was no expectation player payments would continue while the game was on hiatus.
And Whitelock, 28, believes it’s an attitude his side will carry through the rest of the year.
“Any way that we help the club through this period, we will,” he said.
“The personnel at our football club within the playing group will forego a couple of bucks, I believe, if we need to.
“If it gets to that, I think we’ve got a strong enough culture here to work through those things.”
With the construction of new facilities underway, and due for completion in September, the Saints were ready to do things differently on game day.
Goodwood president Craig Scott said the commitment from the senior players was important with a decision on how the season will look still yet to be made.
“The players came to us and said they don’t expect anything at all and anything they can do to support the club, they’ll do,” Scott said.
“That was really good.”