THE current salary cap for community football in South Australia could be significantly reduced as the sport continues to feel the pinch from the coronavirus pandemic.
Talk of the move comes as the game looks to deal with the financial impact of the pandemic and to find ways to keep football clubs and competitions viable.
Riverland Football League chairman Shane Uren said “the football landscape has changed forever”.
“Anything pre COVID-19 with things like contracts, I would suggest are null and void,” he said.
“We are seeing at the sub-elite level across the country, including the SANFL, that they are playing for nothing and the umpires are doing it for zero.
“There is going to be no player payments at that level.
“In the country, footballers and clubs that are thinking that they are going to be paying the same amounts are probably going to be kidding themselves a little bit.
“The salary cap will definitely change for 2021 and I expect it to change in 2020 as well.
“What that will do is make it very difficult for clubs to entice players to travel to play.
“It’s a bit of a catch 22, because it will alleviate the financial burden for clubs as they won’t be paying the maximum amount, because that number will have come down, but players might say I’m not going to go that far, I will play at a club closer to where I live where I will get the same money.
“It will be a very difficult situation for some footy clubs to manage their way through.”
Mr Uren believes a salary cap reduction will likely impact both Riverland Football League competitions.
“Some clubs will be able to manage it okay as they have limited contracted players, but other clubs rely heavily on importing players to maintain not just a competitive side, but a side all together,” he said.
“It is going to be very interesting over the next sort of 12 to 24 months in Riverland football.
“We will have to look at things like player numbers in lower grades and stuff like that.”