Soccer: Rapid-fire bid to finish A-League season

A-League bosses hope to embark on a rapid-fire schedule of games in a bid to finish the season.

Players’ association boss John Didulica says players should not carry the burden.

A-League bosses hope to embark on a rapid-fire schedule of games almost every day by the end of the week in a bid to finish the season, but the players have warned they have concerns over the physical toll.

Gambling that the remaining few rounds and finals can be completed before any players or coaches test positive for COVID-19, A-League officials spent Monday plotting the fastest possible schedule — including double-headers and potentially games through the early part of next week, all behind closed doors — and hope to release it on ­Tuesday.

The W-League final will also be played this weekend, while A-League games will be switched to any suitable venue to expedite the schedule in the hope the vast majority of league games can be completed within three to four weeks.

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But a lengthy phone conference of players convened by their union revealed disquiet among many over potential health and safety implications of continuing to play, even without spectators.

“The players have an acute awareness of the gravity of the current situation across the community and how acutely it may impact on some of their peers,” said PFA CEO John Didulica.

“The players are committed to solidarity. If the league continues, no player group should disproportionately carry the burden imposed by doing so. It is the PFA’s intention to continue working with FFA and the clubs to reach a solution that achieves this.”

It’s believed Perth relocating to the eastern seaboard has been discussed in a bid to reduce the travel time between games, to mirror Wellington Phoenix’s move to Sydney after travel restrictions in both Australia and New Zealand.

Both Wellington and Melbourne Victory will be in isolation for two weeks. While Victory are effectively out of the running for the top six, Phoenix are currently third on the ladder.

But with the spread of the disease only expected to intensify in the coming weeks, there is a recognition that suspending the competition would effectively curtail it for this season.

At grassroots level, meanwhile, club games and training will go ahead for now.

However Nick Galatis, chairman of the AAFC, which represents National Premier League clubs, called on the state associations to suspend the NPL competitions for three to four weeks, as he said clubs couldn’t host games without spectator income.

“We’re asking for a pause, our members are very match-day dependent and having to bear the costs of playing games without money coming in will hit a lot of them,” he said.

Earlier, FFA CEO James Johnson had said that for now the government medical advice was that games at national and local level could go ahead, subject to a strict set of criteria that FFA has put in place above and beyond government guidelines.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH