6 minute read
HOW COVID-19 WREAKED HAVOC ON SA FOOTY
March 2020: summer cricket had given way to autumn and football was underway.
SANFL women’s and senior trial matches had kicked off, and four men’s trial games were played between March 7 and March 14. The largest margin was 17 points. All the signs were positive for a close season.
Yet the dark story of “coronavirus” was quickly escalating; what had started as a localised outbreak in China was now the threat of a global pandemic, with dark mutterings about previously unthinkable ramifications for football.
Australia had confirmed its first cases as early as the Australia Day long weekend. On February 1, the nation closed its borders to China and on the following day, SA confirmed its first two cases of Covid-19.
In late February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it would become a pandemic and Australia’s emergency response plan was triggered.
By the time of the March 14 trial game in which Sturt defeated Central by 17 points, the rate of infection in Australia was doubling every three days on average. The signs were ominous.
New restrictions were being announced every day, so it was with a sense of inevitability that, on March 16, the bad news was delivered: “SANFL, in a united decision with the AFL and all other State Leagues, has postponed the 2020 football season in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
More bad news quickly followed. The Statewide Super Women’s League, National Pharmacies SANFL Juniors and NAB AFL Auskick were all postponed until May 31. The U16 Torrens University Cup, which was already underway, was cancelled.
SURVIVAL MODE
These difficult decisions were essential to safeguard the health and safety of players, coaches, staff, supporters and the broader community.
Nevertheless, it was a devastating blow for clubs, with the loss of revenue threatening their survival. Many staff lost their jobs or were stood down. Those who remained had to step up to hold everything together. The pressure was enormous.
SANFL CEO Jake Parkinson said the competition was facing one of the biggest challenges in its 143-year history. SANFL CEO, Jake Parkinson.
SANFL CEO, Jake Parkinson
Behind the scenes, SANFL was working with its interstate counterparts, the AFL, State and Federal Governments, and the World Health Organisation. Health and safety were priorities - but the burning question was always: When can we play footy again?
This question was posed against a backdrop of worsening conditions around the world. SA was not an epicentre but neither was it immune from the mounting death toll.
More bad news came on April 7, when the 2020 SA Country Football Championships were cancelled. The May 31 restart date was intact but confidence was waning that it could be achieved.
The toll on the SANFL clubs was enormous. This was the first time since World War II that football had been postponed.
With no revenue coming into football, each club undertook fundraising initiatives – while standing united to ensure that every club would survive.
April 30 marked SANFL’s 143rd birthday but celebrations were subdued. All eyes were on securing the future.
Five days later, on May 12, the League confirmed the Port Adelaide and Adelaide Football Clubs would not field teams in the SANFL Statewide Super League competition in 2020. This followed the AFL’s decision not to allow AFLlisted players to play in state leagues for the remainder of the 2020 AFL season.
Jake Parkinson said while it was a disappointing outcome for the two AFL clubs and their supporters, SANFL now had further clarity on its 2020 season.
“We now know it will be an eightteam SANFL competition in 2020 and we can move forward with our planning for a 14-minor round fixture to commence as soon as restrictions enable us to,” he said.
Nobody was surprised when the May 31 restart date was pushed out. The fate of football – and the fate of society and the economy - was now in the hands of emergency and health services.
At home, in governmentmandated isolation to contain the spread of Covid-19, fans turned to history, reliving the glory days, watching flashbacks and debating the greatest games and players of all time. Sport around the world had ground to a halt. Sports programs – with no match-related news to talk about – were now debating whether or not children should go to school.
TURNING POINT
For a variety of reasons, the toll from the disease in South Australia was less than most other parts of Australia and the world. While New York, the UK, Italy and the like were still grappling with the ravages of the disease, Australia was seeing the ‘green shoots of recovery’.
May 18 was a bright point. This was the date the eight SANFL clubs, as well as many community clubs, were able to don their boots again and hit the training track, albeit with restrictions on contact and the number of people that could be involved.
More good news followed on May 28. The 2020 SANFL Statewide Super League season would start on Saturday, June 27!
The details included:
• A 14-minor round season. • The first two rounds would be played at Adelaide Oval, “without spectators and under strict protocols within the State Government’s COVID-19 Step 2 easing of restrictions roadmap.”
• Rounds one and two would be double-headers played on Saturday and Sunday.
• A three-week finals series between the top four would commence on the weekend of October 3-4, with the Grand Final to be held on the weekend of October 17-18.
• A decision on venues for future home and away matches would be determined closer to the season start date.
• Further details of the fixture to be released by mid-June.
• SANFL Statewide Super Women’s League, SANFL Reserves and Under 18s Torrens University Cup competitions would also start on Saturday, June 27.
That was the good news. The bad news was that spectators would not be permitted to attend. A cap of up to 80 players, umpires, trainers and officials would be allowed on the ground.
However, most people could sense that conditions were quickly changing. SA was going for weeks without recording a new case.
After weeks of conjecture, the League received State Government approval for a structured return to contact training in groups of 20 for SANFL and Community Football from Monday, June 1.
“The circumstances and restrictions surrounding COVID-19 are evolving and improving rapidly and the continued support and efforts of the entire football community will help us continue on the road back to play,” said Jake Parkinson.
In the second week of June, SA Premier, Steven Marshall, revealed that crowds of up to 500 people would be permitted at football matches in SA from July 3, providing there was no significant outbreak of Covid-19.
The 500 limit was subject to social distancing, with no more than one person per four square metres and a distance of 1.5 metres required between spectators.
SANFL has now received approval for crowds of up to 5,000 to attend Round 1 following the success of 2,000 fans attending the AFL Showdown at Adelaide Oval on June 13.
So here we are, with round one now kicking off. Despite the deep financial damage that has been inflicted on clubs, this weekend is a time for rejoicing. For now, we have beaten the pandemic and the sounds of football – the cheers, the chants and the passion - are once more reverberating around ovals.
