Hi All,
We received this from WAIBoP this afternoon.
This is very exciting news and we hope, like us, you are all looking forward to finally starting our football season!
Football’s Back!
I am sure that everyone was glued to the PM’s message yesterday hoping to hear some good news about a meaningful return to the grass. We received the news that gathering sizes can increase to a maximum of 100 people, which allows for the return of Community Football.
In line with the previous information we have distributed to clubs, I can confirm that we will be starting the Junior season on June 6, 2020 (including Federation and Baywide Youth) and the Senior season on June 13/14, 2020.
At this time the Northern Region Football League (NRFL) are still working through start options.
More information will follow when NZ Football releases football’s Return to Play Guidelines.
I would like to thank Sport Bay of Plenty, Sport Waikato and all the council grounds staff across our federation’s region for the pro-active way they have approached the altered season for community sport.
There are a large number of draws required to be produced, across the full range of junior, youth and senior age groups. We will work to get them finalised as soon as possible.
The announcement of a return to play has also caused a welcome flow of player registrations to many clubs. Best of luck to everyone for a successful 2020 season.
Please note: Contact Tracing requirements, as per last week’s message, are still in place. There has been one small alteration: coaches are now no longer required to record who dropped off and picked up their players at each session.
Karyn Walters
CEO Waikato Bay of Plenty Football