Recent changes to the NSW Government’s COVID-19 guidelines – Friday 17th July

Yesterday (16 July), the NSW Government issued new guidelines for community sport so as to help stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus and keep our game’s participants healthy and safe. Further, it released an updated version of its recommended COVID Safety Plan. For the benefit of our members and in line with these new guidelines, Football NSW also updated its own template Safety Plan and has now provided this to all Associations and Clubs for wide dissemination, adoption and implementation.

Effective immediately, and until further advised, the key changes that we encourage all members of the football community to respect are as follows:

• Parents, supporters and clubs are asked to limit the number of people attending games to a minimum so as to avoid the congregation of large crowds around our football pitches. Where feasible, it is suggested that only one parent/guardian should accompany children to games. Furthermore, grandparents, aunts/uncles and other family members and supporters should remain home to assist in the prevention of community transmission. For those attending games, please practice good hygiene, social distancing of 1.5 metres between individuals, and as quickly as possible, ‘get in, play, and get out’ so as avoid any unnecessary co-mingling.
• All participants, including players, match officials and spectators, are excluded from football training and games if they have visited Victoria in the past 14 days
• Similarly, all participants including players, match officials and spectators should exclude themselves from any football activity if they have attended any of the reported case locations on the NSW Health website
• Where sufficient numbers to field a team cannot be achieved, work with the respective competition administrator (the club or Association) and prioritise delaying the game or event to another date, rather than using and mixing players from other teams.
• Players, team officials, parents/guardians and other club members must not attend training or games, if in the past 14 days they have been:
  • been unwell or had any flu-like symptoms, or
  • been in contact with a known or suspected case of COVID-19, or
  • any sudden loss of smell or loss of taste, or
  • are at a high risk from a health perspective, including the elderly and those with pre-existing medical heath conditions.

• The number of people in a facility should not exceed the ‘one person per 4 sq metres of space to a maximum of 500 people. For games played at major recreational facilities and sporting stadia, QR codes should be used to record details of attending patrons and these can be developed for key games by Football NSW.

Once more, Football NSW encourages everyone to respect the NSW Government’s amended guidelines and work with their respective Clubs/Association in providing a safe environment for our sport.

Thank you for your cooperation, and enjoy the weekend’s games