Season on hold for country football due to virus threat

Country Victoria should have been gearing up for the launch of a new football season this weekend.

COUNTRY Victoria should have been gearing up for the launch of a new football season this weekend.

Instead, the season is on ice until at least May as leagues and clubs shut down to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Most senior country leagues have adopted the AFL’s recommendation last week for community football to be paused until at least May 31, a decision the AFL itself adopted on Sunday.

It has left clubs and leagues trying to figure out possible alternatives for fixtures as well as the financial implications. One league administrator said his clubs would miss the equivalent of five to six home games of revenue, with Easter blockbusters unable to proceed.

One club that was due to host a season opener on Saturday was last year’s Warrnambool and District league runner-up, Nirranda.

Off field: Nirranda club president Jake Harkness. Picture: Dannika Bonser

Club president Jake Harkness said everything, including training, had been put on hold. It meant his son Brayden’s debut as playing coach was also on hold.

“I wasn’t surprised. People’s health has got to be put first,” Jake said.

“We’re only really at the start of this. Wait until we’re a month in and see where we’re at then.

“To be honest, everyone is on the same page. People’s health and safety has to come first. It is only a game of football.”

He said one of his concerns was junior footballers could be hard to entice back, especially if the whole season was lost.

“Financially I don’t think it impacts at all because you haven’t got any costs. If we’re not playing footy, there is no costs,” he said.

“We may have to pay a bit of sponsorship back that we’ve already got in, but some sponsors may just say keep it until next year.”

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