THE Limestone Coast Football Association 2020 season is definitely going to go ahead according to president Eric Nieto.
A league meeting was held on Tuesday night involving presidents of all clubs and the first item on the agenda was whether teams wanted to play this year.
News of crowds up to 500 being allowed as of July 3 helped the cause, even swaying the votes of clubs which were previously against a season.
While the ideal scenario would be to have all seven clubs contest the season, that may not be the case.
“We are still uncertain with Portland due to the border closure,” Nieto said.
“But we are going to hold on as long as we can with the hope Portland is allowed to come over.”
Not all clubs sided with the decision to go ahead with the season, but the majority voted in favour of it.
“Some clubs are still undecided, but the fact that all of a sudden we were allowed to have 500 people at a pitch instead of 80 is a big turning point,” Nieto said.
“We are hoping to get as many teams as possible.”
Nieto said while the association is committed to helping all clubs in any way possible, it is not forcing teams to play.
“If a team does not want to play, then we cannot force them to play,” he said.
“We have made it quite clear it is their decision.
“We are there to help them, but we do not want anyone to feel bad if they do not play the season.”
Also on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting was the Miniroos competition, which was brought to a premature close after three rounds due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Nieto said the association is determined to complete the season and will look to return the league’s youngest players to the park later in the year.
“The Miniroos will recommence at the end of August/September, which will bring better weather for the kids,” he said.
“They will finish around the same time as our league.”
As for the LCFA season, a start date is yet to be locked in, but Nieto gave a ballpark of mid-July.
“We will be looking at between the 12th and 19th of July – those dates are not secured yet though,” he said.
While the league has committed to a 2020 competition, Nieto said the costs involved for clubs remains one of the main items on the agenda.
“Just like other sports, finances becomes a big thing,” he said.
“Our league and our board will definitely aid the clubs to sustain the season in any possible way that we can.
“We just hope the South Australia (Football) federation do the same.”
