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The AFL have announced the 2020 season will be reduced to 17 rounds, becoming the latest sporting league to fall victim to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
However, Gillon McLachlan said the AFL was yet to reach a decision as to whether Round 1 – set to begin on Thursday – would take place.
This follows the suspension of all state competitions and talent programs – including the national one – until May 31.
The reduction means each team will play each other just once in 2020. The first four rounds, whenever they take place, will take place as fixtured, with altered rounds to begin from Round 5 onwards.
“Hard decisions [were] necessary to protect health and livelihoods in our football family,” McLachlan said in a statement.
McLachlan also conceded that a significant delay of the season could also force the grand final to be held at a venue other than the MCG if cricket has taken control of the venue by then. While he said the AFL was hoping to keep the current finals structure in place, they were looking at shortening games to create greater flexibility if necessary.
Unlike the NRL earlier in the day, McLachlan did seem to hint in more definitive terms that a player testing positive to COVID-19 would result in a suspension of the season.
While he said he recognised the community’s ‘need’ to have live football to look forward to, but that desperate measures were required given the unprecedented situation.
It was rumoured that the AFL would choose to have the season go ahead on time but behind closed doors to prevent large crowds spreading the disease.
Up until now, league officials have been adamant that the season would continue as planned. However, recent events, including the cancellation of the 2020 Melbourne Grand Prix and other sports cancelling or postponing matches, have forced their hand.
AFL clubs have already been taking steps to prevent players from being exposed to coronavirus, including banning open training sessions, limiting media and sponsorship interviews and advising players to abstain from handshakes and high-fives.
Sam Switkowski of Fremantle and Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury have both recently been in quarantine after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Switkowski’s test returned negative whereas Pendlebury’s, contrary to earlier reports that it had returned negative, is yet to return.
A planned match in China between St Kilda and Port Adelaide has already been relocated to Melbourne.
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