Dear AFL Community Clubs and local stakeholders,

AFL NSW/ACT welcomes the Acting Minister for Sports announcement today that from 1 July 2020 adult community sport competitions can restart at the same time as 18 years and under.

To ensure players are well-prepared for competition, AFL NSW/ACT will commence a necessary contact-training and match preparation phase from 1 July. We are excited to work with our Leagues and Clubs to begin a dynamic 2020 Community Football and NAB AFL Auskick Season, with the first bounce of official competition play for all ages planned for the weekend of 17 – 19 July 2020.

As we work through a staged approach towards contact-training and competition, we will continue to engage with Leagues, Clubs, participants, coaches, umpires and all volunteers to ensure we return to competition play in an effective and safe manner in adherence with the NSW Public Heath Order, Community Sport COVID-19 Safety Plan and AFL Return to Play Framework (RTP Framework).

It should be noted that, until advised otherwise, all sports are still subject to the current NSW Public Health Orders until 1 July 2020 and should be training under the AFL Return to Small Group Training Protocols.

AFL NSW/ACT will publish Return to Contact Training and Competition Play Protocols for NAB AFL Auskick, junior and senior community football in-line with Government Guidelines and the RTP Framework to inform and educate our network well in advance of official competition play.

We encourage our Senior Clubs to collaborate with local councils across NSW to confirm venue availability and revised access conditions now that we have certainty around a season start date for our competitions. AFL NSW/ACT is collaborating with other major sporting codes to agree on overarching season-length principles and dates to ensure a smooth handover with limited impacts to future seasons. A copy of the media release and agreement can be found here.

Today’s announcement provides much-needed certainty and confidence for senior community football competitions. However, we do acknowledge that additional guidance is needed as it relates to spectators and use of canteens. We plan on including guidance for canteen use and spectators in our Return to Competition Play Protocols.

AFL NSW/ACT encourages our network to visit www.aflnswact.com.au/return-to-play for a comprehensive list of resources including templates, FAQ’s, education resources and regular updates.

On behalf of AFL NSW/ACT, we would like to thank all participants and volunteers for your patience, support and understanding as we work towards a safe return for community football.

We could not have done this without the outstanding support of the entire AFL family and share your excitement for a return to footy across all ages in July.

Tiffany Robertson
Acting Chief Executive Officer – AFL NSW/ACT