Football Victoria confirms cancellation of remainder of Season 2021
Essendon Royals Soccer Club confirms it has received confirmation from Football Victoria that all Metropolitan Melbourne competitions have been cancelled.
Football Victoria wrote to all clubs earlier this afternoon to confirm the cancellation of all football competitions in metro Melbourne, a confirmation it made public this afternoon.
The correspondence the club received from Football Victoria reads as follows.
“Dear Victorian Clubs,
2021 has certainly been another year of ups and downs for our state, and for football.
We brushed off the cobwebs of 2020 and saw a positive return to football in 2021, enjoying some exhilarating runs of play, giving us all hope that we could complete the football season.
But COVID-19 has proved to be a truly fierce adversary and, sadly, we once again find ourselves in a very challenging landscape for football.
FV’s vision is to provide Football For All, Anywhere, Anytime, and alongside the valuable feedback of our stakeholders, this has continued to shape our decision making process. Importantly though, the safety of our community sits above all else, as our most important consideration for all football decisions throughout the pandemic.
Our NPL and Competitions teams have worked day and night to produce an extraordinary body of work, planning multiple scenarios for every competition. This work is detailed, well-considered and milestone driven.
We would like to express our gratitude to our football community, who have engaged in roundtable discussions, completed surveys and provided direct feedback to the team, all of which has been absolutely essential for us to best align with the needs of our community.
Many of the planned scenarios have been eliminated in recent weeks, due to the key dates passing with extended lockdowns across the state. Unfortunately, the most recent Government announcement means our options to complete the 2021 season for our metropolitan Melbourne competitions have now reached an end.
The lockdown extension through September, with no guaranteed timeframe for a safe return to football, leaves us with no choice but to cancel the 2021 season for all metropolitan Melbourne competitions:
- NPL Womens (NPLW including Senior & U19)
- Victorian Premier League Womens
- Womens State League
- NPL Junior Girls
- NPL Junior Boys
- NPL Mens (NPL NPL2, NPL3, including Senior, U21 and U19)
- Mens State League
- Mens Metropolitan & Masters
- Metropolitan Community Juniors (U12-U21)
- Metropolitan MiniRoos (U7-U11)
We know this news is disappointing, particularly following last year’s abandoned season. Winter sport has borne the brunt of lockdowns and in turn, the impact on our football community has been immense. Our Clubs, Associations, Officials, Administrators, Volunteers and Players have bravely weathered the storm, rallying through each round of restrictions, showing a resilience that I know will keep our community strong through yet another challenge.
We are so pleased that there is still the possibility for players in Regional Victoria to return to football, once Government restrictions allow and subject to FV’s Return to Play conditions. Clubs should refer to their Associations for further information, following these government announcements.
FV will engage directly with the Clubs involved in our Nike F.C. Cup and Dockerty Cup finals, to determine if these matches can be played before the end of the year.
We appreciate you will have questions about what this cancellation means for promotion, relegation and awarding champions this season. Please see the summary which outlines the circumstances for our competitions below.
Further information will be sent by Friday, September 17 regarding how FV’s Fee Refund Policy applies, related to Football Victoria and Football Australia’s component of fees.”
As a club, Essendon Royals is bitterly disappointed with today’s news.
Our club has worked incredibly hard to get our players back on the park after the loss of the 2020 season.
We were beyond pleased to retain the vast majority of our players to enter over 50 teams into the Football Victoria competition this season and it was with great delight we saw our players, from our youngest under-8 boys and girls team through to our senior men and women’s teams, return to the field and train and compete in our colours in 2021.
If as a member you have any questions or concerns, we ask that you please send them to [email protected].