EDFL: Tullamarine president’s plan for clubs to rebound from coronavirus
An EDFL president has suggested one way local footy competitions can combine to help clubs recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A leading suburban football club president fears clubs will fold unless competitions across Victoria band together and block player payments for 2021.
Tullamarine president Peter Labbad has called on suburban leagues to implement the measure to protect clubs amid the coronavirus crisis.
Clubs are preparing for severe financial pain as the pandemic takes hold, with the EDFL and Melbourne’s other metropolitan competitions delaying their seasons until at least May 31.
Labbad said he had “100 per cent” considered the dire prospect of clubs folding.
He said clubs were vulnerable given their main sources of revenue – sponsorship and bar takings – were non-existent as a result of the global outbreak.
While clubs and competitions face great uncertainty in the months ahead, Labbad said he expected the 2020 season to ultimately be cancelled, which would only compound the enormous financial strain.
The EDFL’s Premier Division salary cap is $200,000 this season, while Division 1 clubs have $175,000 to spend and Division 2 sides $140,000.
“The only way I can see it working, if we don’t play, is the EDFL and the other leagues say there’s got to be a 12-month cooling off period where there’s no payments to players. No club is allowed to pay,” Labbad said.
“I don’t know how you can monitor that.
“But for the competition to rejuvenate and clubs to survive, play the game for the game, and then reset for 2022.
“The only clubs that will survive (without those measures) are those with a mammoth sponsor.”
2020 LOCAL FOOTBALL SEASON DELAYED FURTHER
Labbad said the Demons, who are a perennial contender in Division 1 but operate with a modest budget, had already lost $40,000-$50,000 as a result of two months being wiped from the season.
He added Tullamarine aimed to generate about $200,000 each year, which underlines the enormity of the task facing clubs if there is no football played in 2020.
The Demons have also ruled a line through all their social functions, while the “awesome revenue” generated from Thursday night meals in recent weeks is no more.
Labbad said local football clubs were “no different to a business”.
“We’ve put all our memberships on hold, so the people who have paid, we’ll probably be giving some money back if the season’s cut in half,” he said.
“If it’s completely stopped, we’ll have to refund so there’s going to be money coming out of the account.
“Same with merchandise – some people may not want it now.
“Players may have gone and bought all their gear, but if there’s no footy, they’ve wasted their money.
“There’s a lot of little things.”
But Labbad, who is a junior coach at St Bernard’s and steers Tullamarine’s women’s side, said the gravity of the situation stretched far beyond the senior ranks.
“I’ve seen my kid cry,” he said.
“You can imagine all the kids now, they’ve got nothing.
“We’ve got to go back to the real grassroots, what it’s about and how we get our clubs to survive for the kids first and then the seniors.
“The seniors really is a distant second at the moment when you see the kids in tears.
“A lot of the clubs are homes for people because they don’t have anything else.”
WHAT A LEADER LOCAL FOOTY SUBSCRIPTION GIVES YOU ACCESS TO
— Match reports, features, player and coach movements and analysis of all the leagues across Melbourne.
— Unprecedented AFL coverage.
— All the latest football news from across the country including Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph and Courier-Mail.
— Latest news and videos from the world’s leading leagues.
— Exclusive digital stories and videos before they go to print.