NPL SA club Adelaide Olympic says government should support grassroots organisations that lose revenue due to coronavirus
As the coronavirus pandemic causes uncertainty across the country, one SA soccer club says the government should consider financially compensating grassroots organisations that are forced to cancel local fixtures.
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A South Australian soccer club has called for government support to offset revenue lost from postponed matches during the coronavirus pandemic, as others cancel games and training sessions.
Local leagues joined competitions across the globe in facing an uncertain future, after Saturday’s National Premier League (NPL) SA clash between Adelaide Olympic and Adelaide United was called off.
Olympic president Stavros Parissos endorsed the postponement of the top flight fixture, as MetroStars, Adelaide Comets and Sturt Lions scrapped junior and some senior team activity.
But he said it raised questions about the continuation of the league and clubs’ ability to remain viable without generating match-day revenue from gate, bar and canteen takings.
“Of course we were supportive of calling the game off,” Parissos said.
“We’d rather err on the side of caution and offer our support to the people who are potentially affected by it.
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“Football pales into insignificance when we’re talking about peoples’ lives ... and you’ve got to put the wellbeing of everyone, spectators and players, first.
“But there should be some sort of financial support for clubs.
“We have a number of players from overseas who depend on football as their major source of income.
“There’s got to be some common sense and maybe a small package that is available to every club to offset the financial losses.”
Parissos estimated Olympic lost about $2000 in staff costs and unused food from the postponed fixture.
He backed calls for local competitions to be temporarily suspended to reduce the risk of spreading the disease among players, supporters and volunteers.
NPL rival MetroStars announced on Sunday it had cancelled all senior and junior training at TK Shutter Reserve and its other venues until further notice amid concerns over the virus.
Adelaide Comets also called off this weekend’s junior gala event, which was set to host 200 underage teams from across the state at their Ellis Park headquarters.
The moves followed State League One outfit Sturt Lions halting games and training for players up to under-17s for at least the next week.
“Much of the literature coming out is saying that the best way to slow the spread of the virus is through social distancing,” president John Vander Veeken posted on Facebook.
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“This is the reason we are seeing unprecedented actions being taken by many organisations including sporting bodies and corporations.
“The broader football industry has a responsibility to look after the health and safety of our players, coaches, volunteers and the extended families and friends within our club.”
The remaining 17 senior federation fixtures were completed across the weekend.
Football SA instructed players and officials to exercise stringent hygiene precautions, such as not sharing drink bottles or shaking hands with opponents pre and post-match.
The federation said it would follow the Federal Government’s instruction for all non-essential gatherings of 500 people or more to be cancelled from Monday.
It remained unclear how that will affect this coming week’s round one FFA Cup SA action or the season ahead.
The A-League has at this stage continued.
But matches are set to be played behind closed doors, as a potential suspension looms.
Games across most of Europe’s leading competitions, including England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France, have already been put on hold.