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The Macarthur Football Association has announced the provision of fee relief to its twenty-two member clubs following the abandonment of the 2021 Winter Football season due to COVID.

Since the official abandonment of the 2021 Season was announced, the Board and Management of the Macarthur Football Association (MFA) undertook a financial review to determine whether any fee discount could be passed on.

Part of this process was a petition to Football NSW and Football Australia to apply a discount on the registration levies, which include cost of insurances. Pleasingly, Football NSW have confirmed a discount to the registration levy, with a total discount of $67,310 afforded to the MFA, which the Board resolved to pass on in full to member Clubs.

Further to this, the MFA Board identified the need to provide additional support to its twenty-two member clubs to ensure their ongoing solvency and therefore, resolved to return a further $101,150 in player registration fees.

General Manager of the MFA Salv Carmusciano applauded the decision of the Board.

“The sustainability of a healthy club framework is fundamental to our game and our community. The fee relief resolved by the Board will go a long way to supporting our community through these challenging times”.

With this knowledge, member clubs can now conclude their own review. Each club has different suppliers and a variety of costs they need to consider such as ground hire, uniforms, equipment, referees, trophies, maintenance, canteen stock, etc. It is not unreasonable to assume that clubs have incurred many of these costs. Please allow your clubs committee an opportunity to review their finances. Each club may implement a different strategy at their discretion. Please remember that local clubs are run by community volunteers that directly service over 10,800 players. The service they provide the community should not be underestimated.

Respectfully, we ask that you do not contact the MFA seeking a refund.

MFA Chairman Darcy Lound paid glowing tribute to the Macarthur Football Family, who saw the season unfortunately come to an untimely end due to the pandemic.

“I want to acknowledge the dedication of our volunteers, players, referees and coaches that enabled us to still deliver part of a football season. It hurts that we couldn’t finish what we started, but your safety and wellbeing is our ultimate priority.”

“We can’t wait to put this period behind us and get you all back on the pitch as quickly as possible in 2022”.

–ENDS–

Our Dearest Football Community,

It is with a heavy heart that the MFA officially announce the abandonment of the 2021 Football Season.

The decision was not taken lightly and is a direct result of the current health pandemic that has seen Greater Sydney placed in lockdown since 6pm Saturday, 26 June 2021.

Whilst lockdown is scheduled to end on Saturday, 28 August, the status of the pandemic suggests that lockdown will once again be extended. In reaching this decision, we have consulted various Government agencies and monitored daily updates from the Premier, the Minister for Health and the Chief Medical Officer. Currently there is no Government sanctioned roadmap out of the lockdown for sport, which has left the MFA Board with no alternative but to call an end to the 2021 Season.

The NSW Government’s health advice, particularly with the current state of daily infections and vaccination rates, made it difficult to provide a safe environment to continue with the Winter Season. Above all, the safety of our community is our number one priority and could not be jeopardised.

As the 2021 season has been abandoned, there will be no winners declared and no Premierships awarded. As a guiding principle, no teams will be promoted nor relegated based on results in the 2021 Season. As a starting point, teams will commence the 2022 season in the same grade (division) that they finished the 2021 season (at the point where the season was abandoned). For example, if your team finished 2021 in U14 Division 1, it will be graded in U15 Division 1 to start 2022. As always, teams will be assessed at the point of nomination in 2022.

With respect to registration fees, it should be noted that a players registration fee is made up of several components. There are levies applied by Football Australia and Football NSW, which include personal accident insurance. The MFA has petitioned Football NSW and Football Australia to apply a discount on registration levies, which is under consideration.

The MFA is also undertaking its own financial budget review following the decision to abandon the season. Any discounts will be provided to member clubs.

A players registration fee is paid to and managed by your local club. The levies detailed above are factored into the final fee, as are the costs of playing football for your club, such as ground hire, uniforms, equipment, referees, trophies, maintenance, etc. It is not unreasonable to assume that clubs have incurred many of these costs. Please allow your clubs committee an opportunity to review their finances at this time. Please remember that local clubs are run by community volunteers that we owe plenty to.

On behalf of the MFA Board and staff, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Macarthur Football Family for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. We are sure you are all as disappointed as we are, but we look forward to 2022 with optimism.

We encourage you all to continue to follow the health advice and look after one another.

If you or someone you know is struggling to cope, please consider assistance from the following services:

Lifeline
https://www.lifeline.org.au/
13 11 14

Beyond Blue
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
1300 22 4636

Kids Helpline
1800 551 800

NSW Mental Health
1800 011 511

We can’t wait to see you on the pitch again in 2022.

Yours in Football,

Chairman Darcy Lound

on behalf of the MFA Board of Directors.