We wanted to take this opportunity to provide an update on the Club’s response to the current COVID-19 situation.
We know this is truly an unprecedented scenario and every single one of us will be impacted. Our hope is that all our members are looking after yourselves and your families and providing the necessary support to your own communities, workplaces and schools.
Current situation
The AFL this evening announced that the 2020 AFL Premiership Season will be reduced to 17 rounds; with every team set to play each other once.
The state league competitions across the country – VFL, SANFL, NEAFL, WAFL, TSL, men’s and women’s, and all National and State Talent Programs will delay the start of their seasons until 31 May.
Whilst the AFL has not declared a final decision on Round 1 of the AFL season, it is pleasing to hear that players have tonight voted in favour of playing Round 1 and our members can rest assured that our players are very well prepared and excited for this week’s game.
Changes to the 2020 AFL and AFLW seasons have been announced.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) March 16, 2020
This is what we know.
Whether this weekend goes ahead as Round 7 of the AFLW season or whether the match becomes part of a finals series is still unknown. However, following an impressive win in Alice Springs on the weekend, our AFLW team fully intend on playing and continuing the form that sees us sitting second on the ladder in conference B with five wins and one loss for the season.
The Club is understanding of the government’s decision to restrict large crowd access and while disappointing, we must remember that the health and safety of the entire community, including our loyal members, players and staff remains the Club’s number one priority.
How we are keeping people safe
There are a number of proactive steps we are taking at club level to ensure the protection of our members and fans, while also ensuring we are undertaking every possible step to minimise the potential risk of COVID-19 through the football club.
A number of these steps relate to personal hygiene and improved sterilisation of areas that our staff and players unavoidably frequent. We have implemented a range of additional measures to reduce the likelihood of the virus spreading through the Club, which include:
• All administration staff (non-football) are now working from home, where applicable.
• The Club has been closed from a public access perspective, which means the café and retail store at Ikon Park are no longer accessible. For the time being, there will also be no access to AFL or AFLW training for our supporters.
• Player appearances have been postponed until further notice.
• All non-essential travel for staff and players has been cancelled.
• All external meetings and visits will now be via the use of technology rather than visitors or guests attending the Club.
Membership enquiries can still be made over the phone or via email and our online retail store remains open.
We appreciate this is a unique situation and understand the impact it will have on our members. Equally, we acknowledge the responsibility we have on behalf of our members to keep our players and staff as safe and healthy as we possibly can.
Our members
We have mentioned on a number of occasions that our members are the lifeblood of our club. Never has this been more true or more critically important, than right now.
We’ve been incredibly humbled by the feedback we’ve received from our members and we could not be more appreciative of the unconditional support our members have provided us. We would also like to take this opportunity to particularly thank those fans who have contacted the Club and joined as members in the last few days.
Membership fulfilment, connecting with supporters, the 2020 outlook.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) March 16, 2020
CEO Cain Liddle went on 3AW Sportsday to address Carlton members on where things currently stood for the AFL and AFLW seasons. Here's his full chat.#OwnTheFuture
We appreciate that some members will have queries regarding their 2020 memberships, corporate hospitality and upcoming events and we will continue to provide updates as further information comes to hand. As is always the case, members can contact the Club at any time to discuss their membership.
All those who purchased public tickets to our Round 1 match against Richmond are eligible for a refund and will be contacted directly by Ticketek. In relation to the Club’s remaining games, we will continue to communicate to our members as soon as information is provided to us by the AFL.
We also want to advise our members that the Club has confirmed to the AFL that Ikon Park is available to host any Carlton AFL or AFLW match that they want to schedule at the ground. During this lockout period, it goes without saying that Ikon Park should be considered for AFL games when capacity and supporter amenities are not a factor.
Business continuity
Members should be aware that business continuity plans have already been deployed and are being updated as more information comes to hand. Steps have also been taken to immediately reduce our cost base in preparation for the significant loss of revenues across the business.
We have an internal working group that is meeting daily, with regular Board update meetings providing management with the support required to best manage the current situation.
We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this time and absolutely intend to ensure our members remain connected to the Club during this period, whilst also ensuring that you remain informed on a regular basis as new information comes to hand.
On behalf of everyone at the Club, we encourage you all to take care of yourselves and each other during this challenging time and once again thank you for your outstanding support.
