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The Wellington Phoenix are preparing for an August re-start of the A-League.
A-League players are prepared to relocate to a Sydney-based hub to finish the season and have been “energized” by Fox Sports’ decision to support the competition’s resumption, according to their union boss John Didulica.
The players are brimming with excitement after learning Fox Sports forwarded its nearly A $ 12 million quarterly payment to Football Federation Australia last week, allowing plans for the completion of the 2019-20 campaign to proceed.
Clubs and players are anticipating a return to play in August, with the expectation that the last six rounds of the home-and-away season and the finals series will be played in one central location – as was suggested before Covid-19 forced the A -League into recess.
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All remaining A-League games are likely to be played in Sydney without crowds.
While players in other codes face the possibility of long-term stints away from their families, it’s expected A-League teams will have to come together for, approximately, only one month to finish the season.
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“The season itself will be a burst. It’ll be a sprint home,” said Didulica, the chief executive of Professional Footballers Australia.
“Culturally, our players have had more experience with camp-based competition – most of our guys have played with national teams and have been accustomed to being in these situations for three to six weeks.
“The prospect of doing a month is palatable, though clearly, at the other end of the extreme, some of them haven’t been paid for over a month, so we need to make sure the economics work for the league as much as they do for the players. “
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Wellington Phoenix general manager David Dome has said he expects the hub will be in Sydney.
Didulica said he had been in daily contact with A-League chief Greg O’Rourke over possible configurations, although no locations, facilities or timelines had been set in stone. Wellington Phoenix general manager David Dome and Perth Glory owner Tony Sage both said on Monday they expect the hub will be in Sydney.
Didulica said there were still significant “complexities” that needed to be addressed over the coming weeks by the PFA, FFA and clubs before players would take to the field, but did not think they would be insurmountable.
Top of the PFA’s list of concerns are health and safety protocols. The A-League remains the only major football code in Australia to have had a player test positive to Covid-19, with an unidentified Newcastle Jets player and a member of Wellington’s coaching staff contracting the virus in late March while matches were being played behind closed doors.
Other issues include how much time teams will be given to train before the season resumes and between games, how much players will be paid, and how to handle the many contracts that will expire at the end of May.
FIFA has recommended to all member nations that contracts should be extended until the end of the 2019-20 season but has released only guidelines, which are not binding, and not every A-League player may be willing to comply.
“It’s always hard, because you might have players who have signed for overseas clubs as of June 1, or other A-League clubs. Within those contracts there might be significant material differences,” Didulica said. “There are some clubs who have got as few as 10 players contracted for next season. In the event contracts aren’t rolled over, how would they meet their responsibilities to fielding a strong team?”
Players are also willing to accept pay cuts, Didulica said, but only once the PFA had been given a “clear view” of the economic impact of Covid-19 on football in Australia.
“It has been an incredibly tough period for a large number of players. Let’s not forget we still have one club [Perth] who haven’t paid their players a single cent since March, “he said.
“But the fact that the Fox broadcast agreement will enable the season to be concluded has been warmly received, overwhelmingly, and now the work starts about ensuring that we look after the players who will be finishing the season and designing a league that’s got the requisite level of integrity.
“These are good discussions to be having, given where we could have been a fortnight ago, and the players are very energized about having them.”
