Australia’s A-League, which was suspended in March because of the coronavirus outbreak, will resume in mid-July providing an agreement can be reached with broadcasters, Football Federation Australia said.
The plan for the completion of the last six rounds of the regular season and the championship playoffs follows the easing of social restrictions in Australia with the country having been largely successful in containing COVID-19.
“We are committed to delivering the completion of the A-League 2019-20 season and have agreed a comprehensive plan with the clubs and the (players’ union),” FFA chief executive James Johnson said in a statement. “Ideally mid-June will see players return to training, allowing them to reach the required elite level of fitness for competitive matches to commence by mid-July, and for the A-League Finals Series to be completed by mid-August.”
Australia’s other major football codes have already announced their resumption and rugby started training on Thursday. Local media has reported that agreement with broadcaster Fox Sports was the main sticking point in announcing a resumption of the A-League.
