Local footy: EDFL scraps player payments for 2020 season
One of the top community football leagues in Victoria has blocked player payments if a reduced season goes ahead, while any money already paid out is set to be included in next year’s salary cap.
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Players in one of Victoria’s leading suburban football competitions will take the field for the love of the game if a truncated 2020 season goes ahead amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Essendon District Football League is believed to be the first community league in the state to officially scrap player payments for this year in an encouraging sign players are keen to return.
EDFL chief executive Ian Kyte said “the only basis that a season of senior football could commence would be on zero salary cap” in a letter to club presidents.
Strathmore, Airport West, East Keilor, Tullamarine and Burnside Heights were among the clubs who had signalled their players were committed to play for nothing before the decision was made.
The move marks a significant shift for the EDFL, with rival leagues expected to follow.
Premier Division clubs had $250,000 to spend on players in 2018 – the highest limit in Victoria – but that was wound back to $200,000 this year before the health crisis.
The decision was met by resistance from clubs before it was handed down last November.
But EDFL clubs face further hurdles next season, with any payments already made to players set to be included in the 2021 cap.
Clubs will be made to declare any cash paid by signing a statutory declaration form or risk being found to have breached player payment rules.
AFL Victoria is expected to take the axe to salary caps next season, with cuts of at least 50 per cent expected to help clubs survive, meaning top-flight sides could have a limit of $100,000.
The EDFL’s move comes after 85 per cent of Southern league players who responded to a survey said they were happy to play for nothing if a season goes ahead, while the Victorian Amateur Football Association does not pay players.
Victoria’s six senior metropolitan leagues are divided on the viability of the 2020 season, with the EDFL understood to be among those remaining hopeful of a campaign.
The EDFL, VAFA, Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Region leagues will meet again on Tuesday and are seeking clarity about the possibility of crowds and the impact health protocols will have on volunteers’ workloads.
Most clubs rely heavily on game-day revenue to pay for medical supplies, affiliation fees and insurance.
Four country competitions – the Kyabram District, Heathcote District, South West District and Millewa leagues – have cancelled their seasons.
Clubs have been cleared to start non-contact training, while Cricket Victoria has given leagues approval to run their seasons into October.
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