THREE more Riverland Football League Independent clubs are set to sit out the 2020 season following a meeting last week.
Brown’s Well, Cobdogla and Lyrup have announced they will not take part this season, following on from the Paringa’s earlier decision to withdraw if matches are not started by June 13.
With the State Government and SANFL recently announcing that matches will be unable to occur until June 26, this all but guarantees the Swans will join the Lions, Eagles and Bombers on the sidelines.
Brown’s Well Football Club president Andrew ‘Junior’ Schultz said a number of factors played a part in the decision by his club.
“Number one is that there is still a lot of uncertainty about the season,” he said.
“Number two is looking forward for the club.
“We don’t think it is a very financially viable decision to try and run the club, because we are pretty confident it would run at a loss for the season.
“We estimate our sponsorship and our income on game days would be down fairly significantly and it is pretty hard to run 50 per cent of the season on probably 20 to 30 per cent of your budget.
“Financially that is why and we have got an ageing support group.
“Some of our volunteers are in the high-risk category and we don’t want to put pressure on them to feel like they have to be there to support the club like they do normally.
“We have also found that some of our playing group have either lost their jobs or have been put on JobKeeper or stuff like that, and they have had to go off and find other work or they have been offered other work and they have taken it.”
Mr Schultz said the Bombers also withdrew to avoid creating any issues for other clubs if a season was to go ahead.
“We couldn’t be confident that every week we would have 22 players who would be able to commit and play,” he said.
“We don’t want to leave another club in a position where we have to forfeit and they have already outlaid their costs for the day to run the game, only to find out we can’t play.”
In a post on the club’s Facebook page on Thursday morning, the Lyrup Netball and Football Club confirmed its withdrawal.
“As you may or may not have heard, due to COVID-19 and the restrictions that are in place, we will be withdrawing our club for the football and netball season 2020,” the post said.
“It is not a decision we have taken lightly and a lot of discussion has taken place but sadly and with a heavy heart we have withdrawn.
“We will endeavour to look after all our football and netball players and support them through this very hard time.
“We thank you all for your support and look forward to coming back strong and rearing to go in 2021.”
Cobdogla Football Club also took to its Facebook page on Thursday night to outline its intentions for the 2020 season.
“To our valued players, coach, supporters, sponsors and club volunteers, as all football clubs in South Australia, the Cobdogla Football Club has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the post said.
“We have discussed at length the potential of our involvement in the 2020 season.
“However, it is with great regret, but also the only option, for our club’s future to be secured, for us to withdraw from the already shortened season.
“Our committee has arrived at this difficult decision, as we’ve determined it is not financially viable for us to participate in the shortened season.
“We also feel that the safety and wellbeing of players and wider community is paramount.
“Although there are strict measures in place, we feel it changes the social benefits players and supporters gain from being involved in the game.
“This was a difficult decision for our club and not one we take lightly.
“Our committee has discussed the COVID-19 issue at length over many weeks and how it would impact our club.
“We appreciate the continued support of our players, committee members, coach, match officials, sponsors, supporters and volunteers.
“We look forward to seeing them return for an exciting 2021 season.
“In the meantime, we look forward to any possible opportunities to get together with those in our football club community, as further social distancing restrictions ease and allow us to do so.”