Glenelg president Peter Carey says he doesn’t think the SANFL will take place this year
The president of the SANFL’s reigning premiers says he believes the competition will not begin this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The president of the SANFL’s reigning premiers says he believes the competition will not begin this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The start date of the state league competition was pushed back to May 31 after a “collective decision” between the AFL and CEOs of the state bodies earlier this month.
But Glenelg president Peter Carey said he wasn’t confident the SANFL would start at all this year.
“We are working through our finances and looking at what the worst position could be,” he said on FIVEaa.
“We are looking at the worst case … I don’t think the SANFL will be playing this year and we are looking at that worst case scenario.”
The SANFL will lose its first seven rounds as a result of the delayed planned start-date, which will compound the lose of revenue from no AFL games at Adelaide Oval.
SANFL general manager of football Matthew Duldig said the league was still planning for May 31.
“Our position has not changed since the announcement the season has been delayed until May 31,” he said.
“We will continue to listen to the federal government and health agencies in the lead up to that date.”
The league has made five positions redundant immediately, and more than 50 full-time staff indefinitely stood down while the remaining staff – including the executive team – will have their salaries reduced by 20 per cent.
Clubs have also made big cuts to their workforce, while some of them may face a struggle to survive.
Carey said the eight clubs had sent all their financial information through to the SANFL – who were in talks with Bendigo Bank over a loan – “so they are looking at it as one big picture”.
“The objective of the SANFL and the (SA Football) Commission is that we have to have the SANFL and the eight clubs up and running next year,” he said.
“They are talking to the banks, they are preparing a submission to the government they are leaving no stone unturned.”
Glenelg stared extinction in the face in recent years because of financial issues, but the Tigers’ 2019 Premiership win has given them somewhat of a cushion from the money issues stemming from the pandemic.
Carey said where clubs could be in trouble was if they had outstanding debt and “people want to foreclose”.
“I think all the clubs will be in a position where they can get through but the landscape will change significantly,” he said.
Carey said he believed every SANFL club would carry debt over to next year while the salary cap would be cut by $100,000.
SANFL chief executive Jake Parkinson has said the competition will be recovering from the impacts of the pandemic for “some years to come”.