Football Victoria and Queensland plan return to action

Football Victoria and Queensland have stated they are planning returns to action as early as late June or early July.

State competitions across the country have been postponed for what seems like an eternity now, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

However, with the severity of the virus seemingly lowering, plus the return of elite competitions such as the Korean K-League and the German Bundesliga, FV and FQ are hopeful of returning soon as well.

This in spite of several clubs opposing these new plans due to concerns regarding the potential for their clubs to grow during these times. More on that soon.

In a press release on Tuesday, Football Victoria stated that teams could resume competition as early as June 28.

The full press release can be found here:

*START*

As a result of the Victorian Government’s decision to ease its conditions of Stage 3 restrictions relating to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Football Victoria (FV) is now in the process of finalising its Return to Play strategy.

Already, Government decisions have allowed football clubs to resume training in groups of 10 or less, and we expect that number to be increased in the following weeks, provided there are no major future outbreaks of the Coronavirus.

FV is committed to taking a cautious and sensible approach with regard to the safety of all participants in our sport, be they players, coaches, staff or fans.

However, we also understand there is a pressing need for clarity regarding when competitions are expected to resume.

FV has been engaged in ongoing discussions with FFA, State and Federal Governments (including Sport and Recreation Victoria (SRV)) and with clubs at all levels to establish a suitable time to Return to Play. This has involved the development of a number of scenarios (including the one below) which are still being finalised.

It is important to note that for some clubs, re-starting will be a relatively simple measure, while others have a large number of issues to consider before they can resume. FV’s goal is to get everyone playing again as soon as it is safe to do so.

As a result of the latest easing of restrictions, Football Victoria is targeting the following start dates for the proposed resumption of play:

  • For our Community Clubs (Seniors & Juniors), the proposed resumption date is June 28, 2020.

  • For our NPL Junior Clubs, the proposed resumption date is June 20, 2020.

  • For our NPL Senior clubs, we are hopeful of resuming play in early July. This continues to be worked through with the clubs as we understand the added complexities of re-starting professional and semi-professional clubs.

Of course, these dates are our target dates only and are subject to the further advice of the Federal and State Chief Health Officers – they may be revised should the Victorian Government and SRV advise new dates as we move through the announced stages of the resumption of sport.

Our decision to go public with these dates is indicative of our commitment to ensure that competitive football at all levels returns as soon as possible.

Football Victoria will continue to keep the football community informed and updated in the coming weeks with regard to any developments, especially in regard to the resumption of increased training numbers and, ultimately, the return of competition play.

Whilst we are delighted to see the manner in which our clubs have adjusted to the new realities of modified training and limited social contact, we remind our entire football community that any breaches of the existing social distancing rules may compromise our ability to resume football.

*ENDS*

Whilst Victorian teams can expect an earlier return to on-field fixtures, teams in Queensland will be back a little earlier, albeit on the training track.

In a statement released to social media on Thursday, FQ announced that teams can return to full training on June 12 should the current trend of COVID-19 continue.

Their full statement can be found below:

*START*

Football Queensland has developed Return to Training guidelines and resources for clubs ahead of the recommencement of football activity from June 12, 2020.

Please note all sanctioned football activity across the state will remain suspended until June 12 in line with Queensland Government guidelines.

Developed in consultation with medical authorities, Football Queensland’s Return to Training guidelines and resources align with the Queensland Government’s Return to Play Guide.

These guidelines have been developed to support Queensland clubs, to ensure they are prepared to welcome participants back into a safe environment once training sessions can resume from June 12.

It is essential that all clubs review and implement the measures outlined in the Return to Training guidelines before returning to training. All members of the football community must also ensure they follow the conditions outlined in the Return to Training guidelines.

At each training session, an accurate record of all attendees (including parents/carers) for the purposes of contact tracing must be kept, including full name, FFA number, phone number, date and time of attendance and confirmation whether they have downloaded the COVIDSafe app. You can find a link to download the Record of Attendance template below.

Below you can also find downloadable signage that can be printed for display at your club during training sessions.

The Return to Training guidelines will be amended in accordance with any future government directives.

*ENDS*

It is exciting to see that the state federations are fighting hard to get teams back on the field and that, in these extremely stressful times, plans are being laid.

Some may say this is still too early, given that there are still new cases of COVID-19 being reported nationwide everyday. This news comes in spite of recent reports from some top clubs in Victoria’s NPL competition that if the game goes ahead as per these guidelines, they will be significantly hampered.

All clubs at the community level are almost solely dependant on matchdays for their success, whether that’s earning success on the field, financially or otherwise.

Put simply, more clubs will end up like some of the state league Australian rules clubs, which include the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL and the Northern Blues (formerly the Northern Bullants) in the VFL.

However, it appears that in the eyes of FV and FQ, nothing is more important than getting the players back out on the field, ready to go for the first set of fixtures.

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JH Allan Reserve in Keilor East to undergo lighting upgrades

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Image credit: Football Victoria

After strong backing from the community and Football Victoria, Moonee Valley City Council confirmed the green light for upgrades to proceed later this year.

Resounding support

Ahead of the council meeting on Tuesday 24 March, Football Victoria and five Moonee Valley Council clubs created a petition backing lighting improvements at JH Allan Reserve.

What followed was an astounding 624 signatures – a demonstration of the power of united, community support. As a result, main tenants Moonee Ponds United SC and four addition clubs (including Essendon Royals FC, Avondale FC, FC Strathmore and the Moonee Valley Knights) will all benefit from the developments.

“As one of the only facilities within Moonee Valley not shared with other codes, ensuring that JH Allan Reserve meets the needs of our participants is crucial for Football Victoria,” said FV Head of Government Relations and Strategy, Lachlan Cole.

“It was fantastic to see participants and officials from those five clubs come together, support this project, and unite to speak on behalf of their needs. And it was even more heartening to see the wider football community throw their support behind the development by signing the petition.”

 

A long-awaited verdict

The decision comes as a huge step forward for the local football community, arriving after an extended process of consultations and surveys.

In September 2022, Moonee Valley City Council endorsed the Moonee Valley Soccer Strategy, which sought to identify potential upgrades at JH Allan Reserve.

Furthermore, during the community consulation between March and April 2023, 365 people participated in a survey regarding the developments. In the end, 65% of responses supported or strongly supported the installation of sports lighting at the ground.

It is therefore clear that, for much of the community, this was a cause worth fighting for. Over three years since the initial endorsement from Moonee Valley City Council, JH Allan Reserve is now set for a vital upgrade.

Final thoughts

More importantly, however, are the current and future athletes who will feel the benefit from these developments.

Football participation is growing and will continue to do so, in Moonee Valley, Victoria and Australia as a whole. That is why developments like this are so vital.

They are not merely nice to have, but are fundamental to supporting future footballers in the community by providing them with the facilities and environment to play.

Football SA Commits $100,000 to Referee Fuel Subsidy as Cost-of-Living pressure Mounts

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football South Australia has announced a fuel subsidy scheme for match officials across its semi-professional competitions, allocating up to $100,000 for the remainder of the 2026 season in response to rising fuel costs that the governing body says are threatening the delivery of fixtures across the state.

The subsidy, effective immediately, covers referees officiating across the RAA National Premier League, Apex Steel Women’s National Premier League, Apex Steel Women’s State League, HPG Homes State League 1 and State League 2. The subsidy spans senior, reserves and under-18 competitions across both men’s and women’s football.

Under the metro scheme, reimbursements will be tiered against the average Adelaide unleaded petrol price recorded each Friday, applying to all matches played in the following seven-day period. Officials will receive $30 per match day when the average price sits at $3.25 or above, $25 between $2.75 and $3.24, and $20 between $2.35 and $2.74. No subsidy applies below $2.34. For regional matches, referees travelling to Port Pirie, Barossa and Whyalla will see their per-kilometre reimbursement rise from 88 cents to $1.26 when petrol prices exceed $2.35.

All subsidy payments will be funded directly by Football SA, with no cost passed to competing clubs.

The Economics behind the Whistle

Fuel prices in South Australia, as across much of Australia, have been running at elevated levels against the backdrop of an ongoing imperialist war on Iran that has sent shockwaves through global oil markets. Iran’s targeting of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant proportion of the world’s oil supply passes, has disrupted shipping and contributed to price surges that are being felt at service stations in Adelaide as acutely as anywhere.

For match officials, who are overwhelmingly volunteers or low-paid part-time workers travelling to multiple venues across a season, those price surges are not an abstraction. They are a direct financial disincentive to take on appointments, particularly in outer metropolitan and regional areas where travel distances are significant and the cost of attending a game can approach, or exceed the payment for officiating it.

The consequences are cancelled fixtures, forfeited points, disrupted seasons and players who stop turning up to clubs that cannot guarantee them a game.

“This initiative recognises the critical role match officials play in delivering competitions,” CEO Michael Carter said in the announcement, “and aims to reduce the impact of travel costs across the 2026 season.”

A Structural Problem, a Seasonal Solution

The subsidy applies only to the 2026 season. Football SA has been careful to frame it as a response to current conditions rather than a permanent structural change. The $100,000 allocation is described as subject to fuel prices remaining at current levels, with the final amount invested likely to vary as the weekly threshold calculations play out across the season.

That framing is honest about what the scheme is and isn’t. It does not resolve the underlying question of whether referee payments in community and semi-professional football are adequate relative to the demands placed on officials. It remains a question that transcends the current fuel price environment and will outlast it. What it does is buy time and goodwill in a moment when both are in short supply.

Sport, and football in particular, depends on a volunteer and semi-volunteer workforce that is increasingly being squeezed by the same cost-of-living pressures affecting every other part of Australian life. When the price of petrol rises, the people who feel it first are not the players or the clubs, it’s the officials, the committee members and the volunteers who make the infrastructure of community sport function.

Football SA’s decision to absorb that cost rather than pass it to clubs is a recognition that the referee pipeline is fragile in ways that are not always visible until it breaks. The SAPA review into South Australian football, released earlier this month, identified referee development and retention as one of the most pressing structural challenges facing the game in the state, recommending greater investment in recruitment and suggesting affiliation fee subsidies for clubs that bring new officials into the system.

Friday’s announcement does not go that far. But in a season already defined by uncertain economic and geopolitical circumstance, the levy sends a clear enough signal about where Football SA’s priorities lie.

The fuel levy will be calculated each Friday using average Adelaide prices listed on Fuel Price Australia, with payments made to officials on the regular weekly schedule.

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