Coronavirus: Community footballers can’t wait for a kick-off date

A northwest Sydney soccer club says its players are desperate to return to the game they ‘live and breath’.

Putney’s finest: Ariela Bello, Olaia Bello and Scarlet Hall. Picture: Britta Campion

A northwest Sydney soccer club says it hopes Ryde City Council ­already has “guys out with their lawnmowers cutting the grass” on football fields because its players are desperate to return to the game they “live and breath”.

Putney Rangers Football Club secretary Mike Salinos said there was “huge enthusiasm” from parents and children to lace up their boots and get back on to the field if COVID-19 restrictions are eased.

“Without a doubt once the word is out there, we will get inundated with calls from people who want to get their kids back out kicking footballs,” Mr Salinos said.

Enthusiasm to resume play is so great he expected club members would celebrate after training sessions — at 1.5m social distance, of course.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if contrary to council regulations there would be quite a few refreshments had at the end of each game,” he said.

The 15-year veteran of the club’s executive team said the committee was eager to forge a return to the field and was willing to go above and beyond to make sure players and spectators stayed safe.

“Our challenge as a club will be to really manage the social distancing and the contact, particularly with the young children,” he said. “One of the things you do is to try and get them to stay away from the ball, but it’s like a piece of glue and they all stick to it.”

If community sport is given the green light, every effort will be made to push messages out to coaches, who are often players’ parents, about how to play soccer and maintain a safe distance from others.

Curbing the excitement of children to ensure a safe distance was one challenge, but their parents were a whole other ball game, Mr Salinos said.

“There tends to be a lot of excitement and one of the problems the referees have is the over- involvement by the spectators,” he said. “So that is going to be a challenge that will have to be particularly well policed.”

Scott Morrison announced last week that the national cabinet would bring forward consideration of how it would relax COVID-19 restrictions, including a decision on community sport.

He said a return to professional and community sport would have to follow principles endorsed by the national cabinet.

They are based on the Australian Institute of Sport’s “Framework for rebooting sport in a COVID-19 environment” and feature a staged return to outdoor training.

An easing of restrictions would allow the Putney Rangers to reinstate non-contact skills training and drills in groups of no more than 10. Further easing of restrictions could see “full training and competition” reinstated.

Mr Salinos said the Putney Rangers committee would hold a conference call shortly after an announcement was made to discuss what a return to the field looked like for the club’s 700-odd players, about half of whom are under 10.

“The enthusiasm at a club level and at a parental level will be very high,” he said. “ My guess is that it will take us a week to get our act ­together.”