Football Federation Australia (FFA) today announced that it continues to assess the ongoing operations of the Hyundai A-League as the response from all levels of Government to the spread of COVID-19 evolves.

FFA CEO James Johnson said: “The health and wellbeing of the players continues to remain our top priority and we will not be afraid to make decisions to ensure this, no matter how hard they might be.

“We were very comfortable to take the initial decision to allow the Leagues to continue with additional measures in place and have worked through a number of scenarios to facilitate the completion of the A-League season. However, we remain under no illusions as to how fluid this situation is so we will remain agile and responsive to the challenges this pandemic brings. We are continuously assessing our position based on the latest directives and advice from the Government and Chief Medical Officer, and in consultation with our National COVID-19 Working Committee.

“We are taking every precaution in line with Government advice and working closely with the League and clubs which have implemented additional measures to ensure players remain healthy and in good physical and mental condition. Our priority is to ensure that this remains the case to give the clubs and players the best chance of achieving their sporting aspirations.”

FFA will consider the outcomes of the National Cabinet meeting this evening and provide further advice on the 2019/2020 Hyundai A-League season tomorrow.

This announcement follows the FFA’s decision last week to suspend all grassroots football until 14 April 2020.

“The decision to temporarily suspend grassroots football was not an easy one to take at all, but with 1.96 million participants, we took the views of a wide section of the football community, and the latest Government advice. We also firmly believe that football has an important role to play as a good and responsible citizen in the country’s collective efforts to help arrest the spread of COVID-19.

“We created a National COVID-19 Working Committee comprising senior members of FFA, the member federations, the leagues and PFA. This has been meeting regularly, taking advice from all levels of football, governments and health officials, to make informed decisions from a whole of football approach,” Johnson concluded.