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When there's no sport due to coronavirus, what's a professional sports club to do?
Key points:
- The JobKeeper scheme may keep thousands employed in the sport sector
- But not all players and administrators will qualify
- Sports clubs are trying to find alternative work for employees
For A-League football club Central Coast Mariners, the crisis means transforming itself into a charity with the help of the Government's $130 billion JobKeeper package.
The enormous wage subsidy scheme, set to be made law today, will give some relief to thousands of workers in the sports sector that have been stood down, including high-level athletes.
And some coming off contract could have deals extended to make the most of the JobKeeper scheme.
The Mariners stood down more than 50 staff and players last week.
From A-League excitement to food deliveries
Chief executive Shaun Mielekamp is looking to transform the operation, based an hour north of Sydney, into an aid hub for the region by launching a community support line.
Mr Mielekamp said the JobKeeper package would allow the club to keep staff engaged and redeploy them in various community support roles.
"Those staff that are able to come in for one or two days a week, we'll be able to speak to members, do deliveries for our senior citizens in the region, help them with internet issues, or just have a general chat and touch base to make sure that they're all okay," he said.
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"It's something that the chairman (UK-based Mike Charlesworth) is really passionate about, that all resources at the club during this period of time need to be focused on community work.
"The JobKeeper [subsidy] will increase the resources that we have to throw back into the community right now."
Players and staff at English Premier League clubs including Bournemouth, Watford and West Ham have undertaken community outreach and aid in recent days.
Mr Mielekamp said he was also open to keeping off-contract players around so they could access the wage subsidy.
"If there's the opportunity to have a short-term bridging extension to the contract, that could benefit some of the players that are coming off contract," he said.
"And as we move into thinking about a new season, a lot of those issues are going to be really important."
AFL workers stood down as jobs dry up
Roughly 80 per cent of workers at AFL clubs have been stood down.
Western Bulldogs AFLW coach Nathan Burke said his work had dropped to seven hours per week, equivalent to an 80 per cent pay cut.
"I'm still doing exit interviews and making sure they (the players) are all okay," Burke said.
"So that's a little bit of a role, but how long will that last for? I don't know."
Mr Mielekamp said the Mariners would be looking to bring back the workers that have been stood down, to work on the community support line, using JobKeeper wage subsidies.
The Government's flagship $130 billion package promises to subsidise wages of workers at businesses which have been affected by the coronavirus downturn, providing $750 per worker, per week for up to six months.
Employers are required to keep employees on the books and pass on the subsidy in full.
Burke, a veteran of over 300 AFL games for St Kilda said many at the Western Bulldogs are waiting for the JobKeeper payment to be approved.
"We hope this JobKeeper thing comes through basically," Mr Burke said.
"That's sort of what we're relying on at the moment because who knows when footy's going to start again?"
For those stood down, it means some income and the chance to resume previous responsibilities when the crisis subsides.
At the Mariners, it would likely mean staff working on a pro-rata arrangement based on their previous salary.
W-League players could miss out
Until the legislation is passed by Parliament, few are prepared to say for sure what impact JobKeeper will have on sport.
Across major sporting codes, staff and senior men's players are expected to be eligible for the subsidy.
But others are less fortunate.
For example, it's unlikely W-League footballers will be eligible because their contracts only cover them for the 14-game season which ended last month.
Already all AFL clubs have applied for the scheme, and many NRL clubs have joined them.
The New Zealand Warriors were paid almost half a million dollars this week as part of that country's wage subsidy scheme.
While the $750-per-week payment is far less than many sport stars earn, it can even mean a pay increase for juniors, journeymen and women — if they're eligible.
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A-League players worse off than AFL and NRL
John Didulica from the PFA, the body representing footballers in Australia, said many low-income players will be eligible, but it won't come close to solving the real problems that the players will face.
Annual payments for one in eight players in the A-League are below the minimum wage equivalent across a full year.
"The players are likely to face short-and-long term unemployment — or their careers coming to a premature end," Mr Didulica said.
"With this comes a greater predisposition to mental health concerns.
"In this context, it is critical that clubs work with us to solve the game's acute challenges."
Players at most A-League clubs have been told they will be stood down and not be paid.
That's in contrast to the AFL and NRL, where players have struck deals to protect some of their earnings in coming months.
A-League footballers will meet with clubs later this week.
"Worryingly there is no long-term solution for the over 40 per cent of players who are coming off contract at the end of May," Mr Didulica said.
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Topics: sport, community-and-society, sport---leisure, unemployment, welfare, diseases-and-disorders, covid-19, australia