Cricket Victoria and Football Victoria establish framework for upcoming season

This latest agreement adds further clarity for community clubs and Local Government Authorities for grounds shared between Football (Soccer) and Cricket after Cricket Victoria and AFL Victoria recently announced a similar agreement for grounds shared between AFL and Cricket.

In acknowledging the ongoing impact of COVID-19 Cricket Victoria and Football Victoria sought to maximise participation for both the soccer and cricket seasons, provide a framework for competitions and Local Government to plan ahead, allow adequate time for Local Governments/Ground Managers to transition grounds and minimise any overlap for participants and parents involved in both sports.

Download Cricket Victoria – Football Victoria 2020 Transition Framework here

The organisations share more than 200 grounds across the state and stakeholders from both sports worked together with the Victorian State Government to establish the framework.

Key parts of the agreement include:

• All Cricket grounds shared by Fooball (soccer) are able to be transitioned to cricket (i.e. synthetic pitches uncovered) from September 28, 2020.
• All turf ovals will not be used for football after September 27, 2020.
• Football shall prioritise fixturing for matches played after October 1, 2020, to:
  • Single use facilities, then;
  • Shared facilities with synthetic pitches.
• The Junior Football home and away season shall conclude by October 4 and finals/relegation matches by October 11, 2020.
• Senior Football competitions on shared grounds to conclude by October 18, 2020.
• Cricket Victoria competitions on shared use facilities can commence from the following dates, provided it is safe to do so; Premier Cricket (1^st and 2^nd XI Men’s and Women’s) from Saturday October 10, Junior Competitions from Friday October 16, all other senior competitions from Friday October 23, 2020.

Cricket Victoria CEO Andrew Ingleton said:

“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with Football Victoria that will hopefully make the transition phase easier for the many participants, volunteers and Local Governments involved across both sports as they navigate the challenges presented by COVID-19.  We thank Football Victoria for their cooperation in formulating this framework.”