First game of A-League season postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney Thursday, 24 December 2020
The A-League, Australia s top football competition, will start its 2020-2021 season later than expected after the opening match was delayed because of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.
The proposed season-opener between Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur FC has been moved to December 30, having initially been set to take place on Sunday (December 27).
This decision means that Monday s (December 28) match between Western United and Adelaide United at Kardinia Park in Geelong is now scheduled to open the season.
Western Sydney s home match will face a restricted capacity after a recent cluster of COVID-19 cases in Sydney s Northern Beaches region.
The 2020-21 A-League season will now kick off in Geelong, with the proposed opener between Western Sydney and Macarthur FC in Sydney delayed due to the NSW coronavirus outbreak.
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In consultation with the NSW government, a decision has been made to move the A-League and Westfield W-League games scheduled for Sunday 27 December back by three days whilst the modified COVID-19 restrictions are in place in Sydney over the Christmas period.
The A-League 2020/21 season will now open on Monday 28 December between Western United FC and Adelaide United at GMHBA Stadium and the Westfield W-League 2020/21 season on Tuesday 29 December between Brisbane Roar FC and Melbourne City FC at Dolphin Stadium (a double-header with the men’s team).
The Westfield W-League/A-League double-header between Western Sydney FC & Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC & Macarthur FC will be moved to Wednesday 30 December at Bankwest Stadium.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The A-League season will now begin with a game between Western United and Adelaide United in Geelong on Dec. 28.
The Wanderers will face Macarthur on Dec. 30 in Sydney.
An outbreak of the novel coronavirus, centred on Sydney s northern beaches, has grown to 97 cases and parts of the city remain under lockdown.
New South Wales on Wednesday, though, relaxed coronavirus restrictions for Christmas. We have worked closely with the NSW Government to ensure that the A-League . will go ahead as planned with the best possible experience for fans and players within the current restrictions, FA s Head of Leagues, Greg O Rourke said in a statement.
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THE best football coaches always have Plans B, C and even D up their sleeve… and football administrators have learnt quickly to do the same when building a fixture list in the midst of a pandemic.
That’s why league officials remain confident that the 218 A-League and W-League games scheduled for this season will be played over the next six months, even as they rejig the opening few rounds to allow for the latest coronavirus outbreak and its effects on domestic travel.
Administrators have waited as anxiously as anyone for the daily updates on the Northern Beaches COVID-19 outbreak, which has caused border closures just days out from the start of the new A-League and W-League seasons.