Impact of COVID-19 upon the AFL

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 18: AFL Chief Executive Officer Gillon McLachlan speaks to the media during a press conference at Marvel Stadium on June 18, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Last Sunday (22 March) the AFL made the tough, but right, decision to cancel the AFLW season and postpone the AFL season until 31 May due to the impact of COVID-19 upon the broader community.

The AFL, and by extension AFL NSW/ACT, have now begun the difficult process of restructuring business operations to ensure the ongoing viability of our sport. This has meant the difficult decision of temporarily standing down many of AFL NSW/ACT’s staff from Monday 30 March 2020 until Sunday 31 May 2020. We have such a dedicated and passionate team right across the State and Territory, which has made these necessary steps extremely hard.

Included within the stood down staff are those based on the North Coast, i.e. Matt, James, and Paul. During this period these three staff will be on leave and the offices in Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour will be closed.

A small core group who will be working through the stand down period to act as the conduit between AFL NSW/ACT, our football community and key stakeholders. Clubs have been provided with the details of their contact so if you need any support during this time please reach out to your club in the first instance and they can make contact with the appropriate AFL NSW/ACT staff member.

Please focus on the health and well-being of your family, teammates, staff and volunteers as your number one priority. We all have a role to play in stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus and while we all love football, the health of the community is our priority.

Our sport is resilient, our clubs are resilient, and our people are resilient. As soon as we get through this community health crisis we’ll resume footy activity as an important step in helping people’s lives return to normal.