A-League looking at August resumption with all games potentially played in just four weeks
The disrupted A-League season could resume as soon as August, with all remaining matches potentially condensed into a single month of non-stop action in one city.
A-League
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A-League hierarchy want the season to resume and also finish in the month of August.
Clubs are planning to train in July before a competition return in August, though Football Federation Australia (FFA) is yet to outline firm resumption dates.
Adelaide United’s football director Bruce Djite says the five remaining rounds, plus finals, could be condensed within a single month.
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All games are likely to be played in Sydney.
“My understanding is they (Football Federation Australia) want the season completed by the end of August,” Djite said.
“So mathematically, three games a week ... you could knock it out in four or five weeks.
“Then you work back from that and say you need at least four, five weeks training, so you’re looking at late June, early July.
“But there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge.
“The PFA (Professional Footballers Australia) has got to sit down with the FFA and the clubs and nut out what that cost base is going to be for the players and, logistically, all those sorts of things.
“There’s still a lot of unknowns.”
The Reds stood down players when the season was suspended on March 24 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The most pressing detail before any resumption was player payments, Djite said.
“The boys aren’t coming back to train on JobKeeper,” he said.
“Those discussions have to be had as a matter of urgency, so there’s clarity from players’ mindset and there’s clarity for clubs in financial management of what the cost is going to be.
“At the moment there’s no revenues and we don’t know what the cost base looks like to finish off the season.
“That is probably the next most critical decision to be made; one, for the players, what are they going to get paid to come back and train and finish the season, and, two, how does that fit into the cost base.”
Why A-League may emerge with very different landscape
FFA chief executive James Johnson says it’s too early to know if all 11 A-League clubs can survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
The A-League’s resumption date remains unclear amid the ongoing crisis, with travel restrictions and other government health measures making it impossible to complete the 2019-20 season at this stage.
While Johnson is confident the league can resume and finish the remaining rounds of the season in a timeframe which enables clubs to survive, he admits that isn’t a guarantee.
“Do I think that all the clubs will make it through? I think that’s too early to say at the moment,” Johnson said.
“But I am confident that the league will start again soon so naturally the clubs should be able to get through. All clubs should be able to get through.”
Since the league was suspended at the end of March, seven of the 11 clubs have stood down players and staff.
Johnson said every club had applied for the federal government’s JobSeeker relief package, a measure which should provide some assistance until the league is able to resume.
“It’s not enough but it is something, and it is something that is good for the clubs ... but it’s also good for the players and staff as well,” he said.
Unlike the NRL, Johnson is refusing to put a set date on the A-League’s resumption saying factors such as the number of foreign players as well as state and international travel commitments make the situation more complex than other codes.
“Player health and safety and then the logistical issues with state and federal border restrictions need to be softened so that we’re able to get the sport going,” he said.
“These are really the primary issues for us, as soon as they can be resolved we’ll be back on the pitch.”