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The AFL is considering playing as many premiership matches as possible in the first weeks of the season in case the coronavirus outbreak forces the competition to shut down.
Key points:
- The AFL has informed clubs they may introduce a five-day turnaround between matches
- The league is also considering shortening the length of matches and raising or removing the interchange cap
- The AFL season is due to begin on Thursday night, with the Richmond versus Carlton match to be played behind closed doors at the MCG
The league is looking at a range of measures, including having five-day turnarounds between matches. The options were canvassed in talks with club chief executives today.
"We had a series of teleconferences yesterday and today," Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale told ABC Grandstand.
"There's still so much uncertainty."
The AFL hopes to bank matches while it can, in case fixtures are suspended because of the public health threat of coronavirus.
It has been warned to expect the outbreak to peak in Australia sometime between May and July.
The AFL announced on Friday that its first round will be played behind closed doors, a decision in line with advice from the Federal Government that events attracting crowds of more than 500 should be cancelled.
The season is due to begin on Thursday with the traditional opening match between Richmond and Carlton at the MCG.
"We'd be expecting a crowd in excess of 90,000 on Thursday, so I guess we think we're going a long way in reducing the risk of exposure and the rate of infection," Mr Gale said.
"Now, is it totally eliminated? No, it isn't. But we think we've put in place a number of controls and protections around the football department and around the players."
Your questions on coronavirus answered:
One club spokesman has told the ABC there was still a lot of uncertainty about round one. It is still not known what plans will be in place for round two and beyond.
"We're still waiting on direction from the AFL," Mr Gale said.
"At the end of the day, life goes on and the business of football goes on."
AFL may shorten length of matches
The AFL is determined to protect the integrity of the season by completing the full schedule of 198 home and away matches.
It also wants to conserve the value of its lucrative broadcast deals.
Other options being considered are shortening the length of matches, raising or removing the interchange cap and creating a supplementary list of players from lower leagues who could be chosen if players fall ill.
The AFL has advised clubs to tell their players undertaking tertiary study not to attend university, but rather make use of digital lectures.
The unpredictability and fast-moving nature of the crisis means that clubs still do not know what they would do if a player was to contract coronavirus.
While the player would definitely be placed in isolation, it is not clear whether his or her whole club would also be forced into quarantine.
The English Premier League season has been suspended after Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive to COVID-19.
AFL clubs are also having to deal with the issue of interstate travel and whether they could risk players on commercial airline flights.
Some clubs, such as the Sydney Swans, have already told administrative staff members to work from home.
A Swans spokesperson said staff were "effectively already in isolation".
What the experts are saying about coronavirus:
Topics: sport, diseases-and-disorders, respiratory-diseases, infectious-diseases-other, australian-football-league, melbourne-3000, adelaide-5000, perth-6000, brisbane-4000, sydney-2000