Coronavirus Outbreak: Australia's A-League to resume in mid-July, contingent on agreement with broadcasters
Australia’s other major football codes have already announced their resumption, with rugby league recommencing later on Thursday, Australian Rules on 11 June and rugby union on 3 July
Sydney: Australia’s A-League, which was suspended in March because of the coronavirus
outbreak, will resume in mid-July providing an agreement can be reached with broadcasters, Football Federation Australia said on Thursday.
The plan for the completion of the last six rounds of the regular season and the championship playoffs follows the easing of social restrictions in Australia with the country having been largely successful in containing COVID-19 .
“We are committed to delivering the completion of the A-League 2019-20 season and have agreed on a comprehensive plan with the clubs and the (players’ union),” FFA chief executive James Johnson said in a statement.
“Ideally mid-June will see players return to training, allowing them to reach the required elite level of fitness for competitive matches to commence by mid-July, and for the A-League Finals Series to be completed by mid-August.”
Australia’s other major football codes have already announced their resumption, with rugby league recommencing later on Thursday, Australian Rules on 11 June and rugby union on 3 July.
.@FFA CEO James Johnson confirmed today that FFA, Hyundai #ALeague clubs, and @thepfa have reached an agreement on a comprehensive plan for the re-start of the Hyundai #ALeague 2019/20 Season. https://t.co/GxYvzo9Abr
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) May 28, 2020
Local media has reported that agreement with broadcaster Fox Sports was the main sticking point in announcing a resumption of the A-League.
“That’s the final piece of the jigsaw and once we have it in place we can move forward quickly.”
Johnson declined to guarantee all 11 teams would survive the shutdown when the league was suspended on 24 March and the cash-strapped league can ill-afford to get back underway without television revenue.
With some inter-state travel restrictions still in place, the league, which includes New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix, will resume in a “hub” format with teams grouped together and playing at selected stadiums without crowds.
Players and staff will be subject to “stringent health and safety protocols”, A-League chief Greg O’Rourke said.
“We have taken the necessary steps ... to agree and implement the appropriate protocols, which include rigorous screening and testing regimes,” he added.
also read
Premier League: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp unsure about team selection after recent drama over South American World Cup qualifiers
Liverpool's Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Roberto Firminho were selected for this month's World Cup qualifiers in South America but Premier League clubs refused to release players due to the 10-day coronavirus isolation period required on return to Britain.
Germany defender Jerome Boateng files appeal against conviction for assault
A spokesperson for Munich regional court told AFP subsidiary SID that both Boateng's lawyer and the state prosecutor have contested the verdict.
Delhi Futsal League kicks off second edition with more than twice as many teams as inaugural event
The league is being played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and has attracted participation from 20 teams and over 240 players. In the first edition eight had participated.