AFL announces re-start for June 11
Seven welcomes plans for AFL to resume next month.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Coronavirus, News
The AFL plans to resume on June 11.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed the date this afternoon when detailing the ‘return to play’ plan that includes a resumption of training next week.
Clubs will begin non-contact training from Monday May 18 before a full-scale return to contact training from May 25. Players and officials will be tested for COVD-19 at least 24 hours before each session in order to have results returned before beginning the sessions.
A fixture – most likely for the opening four weeks of matches – will be released inside the next seven days.
Four clubs – West Coast, Fremantle, Adelaide and Port Adelaide – will soon base themselves at two golf course resorts on the Gold Coast, and then play a series of matches against each other and the Suns and Lions.
CEO of Seven West Media, James Warburton, said: “We can’t wait to bring the footy back to the fans. Seven has been a supportive partner to the AFL to get the season going and provided a range of options for not only 2020 but certainty until the end of 2024.”
An announcement on Seven’s broadcast plans will be made in due course.
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16 Responses
The federal government should put a ban on all high contact sports for the rest of the year.
I don’t know what’s been more annoying these last few months 6 hours of rolling nightly news about nothing but Covid-19 or the bloody afl restarting. Shut up and put something decent on TV or switch your broadcast off
If you don’t like it, then don’t watch it. Simple. I really can’t wait for the AFL to restart.
Without crowds and all @andrewg76 ? Not only going to be like it for all the remainder of 2020, but probably first part of 2021 season also,, no crowds at AFL and NRL games. The whole crowdless sporting events is a joke, no atmosphere. The afl should of at least scrapped the 2020 season.
Doesn’t matter to me, I love my AFL so crowds or no crowds isn’t really important to me. Just as long as its back. I doubt if it will stretch into 2021 but who knows.
Maybe it will be a joke. It will give quite a few people paid work and quite a few people something to be entertained with on the weekend so net net, seems like a very positive step forward. Lots of things aren’t perfect at the moment, but no point putting everything on hold until things completely return to normal. Better off just embracing what incremental improvements are made along the way.
The AFL are very good at keeping their brand in the news all the time.500k a year players are on and sook cause they do not want to stay away from their families. Give anyone a chance to be away for that kind of money and they’d jump at it.What about our tiredless defence force people…AFL players overpaid primadonnas
If players are concerned about their health they can choose not to play. We don’t need big brother to come in and shut it all down.
It will be good but i just hope the players don’t contract the virus. I get the will to play i do but health always has to come first. Also with them saying 2024 i take it the current broadcast deal was extended from 2022? Guess if Nine wanted to walk away from NRL they’ll have to wait a bit longer yet lol
Putting $$$ before the heath and safety of players is stupid. They should of just abandoned the season and been done with it.
These athletes (and the NRL ones as well) will have some of the best testing and infection management controls on the planet so in fact they are very much putting their health and safety first because if they were joe average, they would probably have a higher chance of contracting the virus and not having it detected. Also 20 – 35 males are extremely low risk of serious consequences if they do get infected for some reason. Good on the AFL (and NRL) for doing what they can to get these games underway as quickly and safely as possible.
Great news. In terms of commentary, while border restrictions are in place youd have to think Bruce McAvaney, Leigh Matthews and Luke Hodge may sit out early rounds. Although given 7 plans to have a boundary rider at each game perhaps they could use Lethal or Hodgey in that role for any Queensland games they may show.
they’re calling games from the studio, so it doesn’t matter.
As I said I think 7 can have a boundary rider at the game with everyone else in the Docklands studio.
We’re finally back! About time!
Sad to see how the SA & WA governments won’t play ball re border closures! Hubs suck!
We don’t want anyone from other states coming over to WA. Keep the borders closed as long as possible I say. We don’t need AFL to restart. It’s not essential and has the potential to increase the risk to the community.
Assuming of course no player gets the virus! lets hope not we need football going again 🙂