All grassroots football in Australia temporarily suspended

Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced on Tuesday evening that all grassroots football matches and training sessions across the country will be suspended for the next four weeks.

Source: AAP

The decision includes all levels of the game except the A-League and W-League. This means that all FFA Cup and National Premier League matches will also be suspended. 

The ruling came into effect at midnight on Tuesday night and will continue until at least Tuesday, 14 April 2020.

Australia has nearly 2 million registered participants across the country. 

"The decision comes as the latest in a series of measures being introduced by the FFA to combat the ongoing spread of COVID-19 following the announcement of its COVID-19 Guidelines yesterday and places the concerns, health and wellbeing of the Australian football and wider community as the highest priority," an FFA statement said. 

FFA had initially said on Monday that football at a grassroots level would continue, but only essential people should attend. However, that decision was re-considered as the push for 'social distancing' increases as the amount of confirmed coronavirus cases grows. 

“Our decision today follows extensive discussions with all of Australia’s nine State and Territory Member Federations, taking into consideration the latest feedback from all levels of the football community,” FFA CEO James Johnson said. 

“We are also taking into consideration the ongoing response by both the broader international and Australian communities which is evolving almost on an hourly basis now. 

“We also recognise that there have been some recent material developments which have changed the landscape significantly, including the decisions made by the Victorian and ACT Governments to declare States of Emergency late yesterday afternoon. 

"Today, more schools, universities and also public sporting facilities have announced that they will be closing so we have had to respond quickly to this. 

“It is very regrettable that grassroots football will not proceed for the next month, but as a good and responsible citizen, we recognise that our game of approximately 1.96 million participants has a significant role to play in slowing the spread of the virus. 

“More Australians play grassroots football than any other team sport in the country and we have been able to listen to the voice of our community, through the establishment of the National COVID-19 Working Committee and our Guidelines, who have expressed a desire to contribute more to the nation at this time through a unified and Whole of Game response.

“As a game we need to be responsive and agile in how we deal with this situation, and we are working together around the clock to deal with this challenge.

"We will continue to assess our position regularly to ensure that it is reflective of the most accurate state of affairs and views of the game."