Capital Football boss Phil Brown says player welfare was one of the key reasons his board opted this week to cancel the remainder of this year's senior and junior competitions.
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Canberra's ongoing lockdown, widely expected to be extended again beyond its September 17 end date, has forced Capital Football's hand in prematurely ending its winter leagues.
Soccer has become the second major sport in Canberra to end its 2021 season, after Canberra Region Rugby League made the same decision last week.
Brown liaised extensively with soccer clubs across Canberra and the region, before taking his recommendation to the Capital Football board that ending the season was the best option. The board then ratified the move.
Lockdown limbo has made it impossible for winter sports to develop contingency plans for seeing out their seasons.
Local AFL, rugby union and hockey remain hopeful of playing finals, but those plans will likely be abandoned should the lockdown be extended.
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One of the major concerns for Brown was asking players to resume competition after almost two months without playing.
"You need to consider the safety of the players, give them a period of time to get a level of fitness back up to be able to play the games," Brown said.
"That level of uncertainty means it probably wasn't an option for us in reality to see any kind of finals."
Tuggeranong finished a distant last in the men's premier league and will be relegated, if NPL2 premiers O'Connor choose to apply for promotion. In the NPL Youth competition, determined by a points aggregate across the four age groups, Brindabella would be relegated from the top division and replaced by Radford.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
