COMMUNITY football clubs and leagues will be allowed crowds of up to 5000 spectators without needing to go through the public health approvals process.
AFL Victoria welcomed the latest announcement from the state government regarding changes to its COVID-19 Public Events Framework.
Clubs and leagues had previously needed to apply to host more than 1000 spectators.
Community football matches expecting crowds of less than 5000 will now will be designated a “Low Risk Tier 2 Event”, meaning organisers still have to ensure the government’s COVID-safe requirements are adhered to, without seeking formal approval.
Spectators are still being advised to keep at least 1.5 metres from each other, adhere to gathering limits of 100 people and follow all requirements for contact tracing procedures, including signing in or scanning QR codes.
Head of AFL Victoria Brad Scott said this was a positive development for community football across the state, especially clubs and leagues expecting large crowd numbers.
“We are continuing to work closely with the Victorian government on a daily basis and advocate for community football, and the situation has been evolving quickly since we were in a lockdown only a few weeks ago,” he said.
“With this latest development, community footy will be as close as possible to ‘back to normal’ when the season starts, which is really exciting.
“It will be great to see big crowds at community football matches while kids will be high-fiving and can have parents, grandparents and family watching their junior footy games. These are all parts of community football that Victorians love, and it’s fantastic to have the season nearly here after the year we had.”
The North Gippsland Football-Netball League season is scheduled to begin Good Friday, April 2, with the Gippsland League beginning the next day.
Most of the two league’s round one matches will be played the following weekend, including the highly-anticipated Gippsland League clash between Sale and Maffra on Sunday, April 11.
The East Gippsland FNL season is due to begin April 24.
