COVID-19 Virus Update #2 17th March, 2020
Dear Club Representatives & Members,
The COVID-19 outbreak has clearly affected us all in some way.
That said, and as I am sure you would all agree or at least appreciate, we all need to play our part in minimising its spread so as to bring it under control as soon as possible. Parallel to all government and community announcements about ‘social distancing’ and good hygiene practices, football and indeed all community sport has a role to play amongst our members and all involved in the game.
To this end, today our National Governing Body, Football Federation Australia (FFA) has released an updated Circular (Circular No 20-06), suspending all community football activities (i.e. below A-League and W-League), effective from 12:00am on 18 March 2020, until 14 April 2020.
You can also read here what Football NSW has to say on the matter
What does this mean for our Association, our competitions, football activities and our clubs ?
- Effective immediately, all games, both competition and pre-season friendlies, all training and other football activities must cease. This will also include gala days, coaching courses, and any school holiday clinics or academies that fall within those dates.
- Where possible, unnecessary meetings and other gatherings should either cease or be minimised to what is only absolutely necessary. I suggest that you look to alternative forms of meeting (teleconferences) or by utilising other forms of technology (e.g. Skype). For us at Nepean Football Association, this means that we’ll be postponing this coming Thursday night’s proposed Coaches & Managers Roadshow in Penrith. We’ll spend the next few days reviewing how we can get this essential information out to those who were planning on attending. We will also be reviewing at our Director’s meeting on Wednesday 18th March how best to proceed with next week’s scheduled Council of Clubs meeting.
- No competitions will commence at this stage, until after 14 April 2020. We will continue to take advice from FFA, FNSW and the relevant health authorities and will review that date again if advised to do so. We will spend the next week or so preparing modified versions of the competition to accommodate any further directives to delay the start of our competitions and MiniRoos activities. We remain committed to keeping our members and club delegates appraised of any changes.
- Clubs and individual members should note, that any football activity which takes place during this period is not sanctioned by the Association nor Football NSW and, therefore, the Personal Accident insurance cover that is provided as part of a player’s registration will not apply. Furthermore, Clubs or teams who actively act against this notice may be subject to disciplinary action, which we of course hope will not be the case.
As you would appreciate, we are working with our state governing body, Football NSW, who is in turn constantly liaising with FFA and relevant government agencies, and everyone is committed to keeping you informed and up to date in these rapidly changing times.
A final couple of requests, we ask that any club who learns of a reported positive case of Corona Virus within their membership report this to us without delay so that we can assess any risk to other members and report it to FNSW as required to do so. When visiting our office, members will be asked to refrain from entering the premises if they or members of their household or close acquaintances who they have had contact with have returned to Australia from overseas in the last 14 days. This is not done to cause offence, but to help maintain a safe work environment for our staff members. Please consider this before visiting our office.
If club members require any further clarification, please contact your club committee with your enquiry. They in turn, will contact our office to obtain a response for you. I thank you for your patience, cooperation and assistance, and would respectfully request that you distribute this information through all your teams as soon as possible.
Linda Cerone
General Manager
Nepean Football Assoc. Inc.