Local footy 2020: EDFL CEO Ian Kyte explains call to cancel season
The EDFL’s 90th anniversary season was meant to be one of celebration, but instead there will be no senior football amid the coronavirus pandemic. League boss Ian Kyte addresses the decision.
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The Essendon District Football League’s 90th anniversary season will not feature senior competitions.
The league ruled a line through its senior men’s and women’s campaigns – including reserves and thirds – on Thursday night amid the coronavirus crisis.
The state of play changed significantly in recent days, with the State Government delaying the easing of restrictions, while Victorians have been advised not to travel to Hume, Moreland and Brimbank, which all house EDFL clubs.
The call came after Premier Division outfit Craigieburn and Division 2 outfit Roxburgh Park withdrew from the season.
Earlier this month, the EDFL had 24 of 28 senior clubs keen to play before outbreaks across the state forced a rethink.
It is believed clubs had senior players pull out in recent days because of the ongoing health concerns, while the strain a season would have put on volunteers has provided constant concern.
The EDFL joins the Western Region, Northern and Eastern competitions in canning the season.
“It was a difficult decision,” EDFL chief executive Ian Kyte said.
“But the board made that decision and we move forward.
“In all leagues that have had to make this call, there’s been clubs that would have participated and clubs who didn’t want to participate.
“Things change from day-to-day and clubs are assessing whether they’ve got enough players, all those sorts of things (are factors).
“The board’s met seven times over the last five weeks and it got to a point where a decision had to be made.”
The league has left the door open to run senior men’s and women’s competitions in alternative formats later in the year.
“We don’t know what format it will be in. It might be a round robin or a carnival-type format over a couple of weekends if clubs are interested,” Kyte said.
“It will be less expensive for them and less time and commitment, so we’ll see how that pans out later in the year.”
Unlike rival metropolitan leagues, the EDFL has committed to staging its men’s under-18.5 competitions.
Three-time Keilor premiership coach Mick McGuane said a reduced season still provided a valuable development opportunity for young players.
The EDFL will also run junior football and open age netball, with several questioning why the league cancelled the senior grades but opted to push ahead with younger age groups.
“That’s the decision this board has made on all the facts they’ve been given,” Kyte said.
Craigieburn on Thursday became the first suburban club to withdraw its senior and junior teams.
“We think it’s harder with juniors – you’ve got a lot more teams, a lot more people required,” president John Perrone said.
“You might not have the expense of paying coaches, but dealing with it in club land is a lot harder because there are more numbers and you’ve got to run two or three grounds.”
The Victorian Amateur Football Association is prepared to wait until July to make a decision, while the Southern league is aiming for a July 25 start.
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