Latest Update From FV on COVID-19: March 25

Dear friends,

We are committed to supporting our entire football community through this challenging time and will continue to provide regular updates as new information comes to hand.  
 
As the largest club-based participation sport in the country, with almost 2 million participants, football has an important role to play in stopping the further spread of the virus.
 
Football is currently postponed until April 14, which means no training, playing or club football activities at all.  We are actively monitoring this with government and other sports and will provide further updates as early as possible to you.
 
The health of our clubs and their communities is always crucial to the prosperity of our game, never more so than now.  Scenario planning is underway to enable us to plan for recommencement as soon as practical.  We will engage with you as we seek to redesign solutions for each of our competitions.
 
For us to continue to monitor, manage and prepare for the remainder of 2020, we will need to modify our own operations accordingly.  We would appreciate your assistance by continuing to register your teams in accordance with the published times.
 
Please observe the ban on all football activities, including training. It’s important to note that any football activity at this time will not be covered by the FV insurance policy. The latest FFA circulars for your reference can be found here: https://www.ffa.com.au/governance/circulars

We also recommend that you stay in touch with the latest government advice regarding activities and social distancing, including the Prime Minister’s recent addresses to the nation, at: https://www.health.gov.au/
 
FV has received many queries over recent days – particularly in relation to club training and refunds.
 
Club Training
A number of clubs have asked about the ban on football activities and whether this applies to training. We confirm that all club-based training is suspended until at least April 14.

Clubs should be aware that any training or other football activities will not be covered by FV’s insurance policies and therefore could be a potentially significant risk exposure for any clubs who choose to ignore the current suspension.

Registration Refunds
The current status on refunds is summarised below:

• While football is suspended, the sport needs participants to continue supporting their clubs by registering to play. This is crucial to ensure the sustainability of the competitions football is aiming to still deliver in 2020 if/when play can resume.

• Clubs remain obliged to pay any Competition Administration or registration fee, Zone/Association fee (if applicable), Member Federation fee and FFA’s National Registration Fee (Governing Body costs) out of the registration fees they collect per participant.  Clubs should consider this before agreeing to provide full refunds to any participant.

• In the event that the Competition Administrator, Zone/Association, Member Federation or FFA (as applicable) in future determines to refund any Governing Body costs to a participant, those Governing Body costs will be returned to the club for the purpose of providing a refund to the participant. 

• If and when a decision is made to provide a refund of Governing Body costs, clubs should note that there may be circumstances where a full refund of a Governing Body cost is not appropriate.  This may be the case where certain services have already been accessed by the participant (such as an insurance policy that was made available for when the participant took part in matches and/or training). Similarly, clubs may have already provided apparel or other products and services they consider to be non-refundable.  A pro rata refund (if any) of a Governing Body cost may be more appropriate in a given case.  Each Governing Body will need to assess this in the future but only once the full extent of the current disruption is better understood.

 
Government Stimulus
 
The Federal Government announced its stimulus package to support businesses and individuals through the current challenges. Find out more here: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/supporting-australian-workers-and-business
 
The Victorian Government has also announced a $1.7 billion economic and jobs package to help Victorian businesses and workers manage the impacts of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Find out more here: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/economic-survival-package-to-support-businesses-and-jobs/
 
FV is constantly reviewing the above to ensure we maximise the support available to the sport and will provide updates for clubs as they come to hand.

Please stay safe as we all navigate through these challenges.

Yours sincerely in football,
 
 
Peter Filopoulos
Chief Executive Officer
Football Victoria