COVID-19 tests for all AFL players by week's end
The AFL has told clubs all players and designated officials will be tested for COVID-19 by the end of the week paving the way for a return to training as early as next Monday.
The Age has confirmed that the AFL had sent a memo to clubs outlining their expectations as they progress from the shutdown towards games after the Victorian government said Victorian clubs would be allowed to return to full training when restrictions eased on Wednesday.
The testing for Victorian clubs is expected to begin on Wednesday at a central hub at Marvel Stadium.
Clubs have also been told that football department staff will be restricted to 24 which would include coaches and conditioning staff. Clubs must retain a player development manager, a doctor and a psychologist.
As part of strict return-to-play rules, players have been banned from featuring in their regular affiliated second-tier competitions.
COVID-19 testing is done via a nasal swab.Credit:AP
Clubs will be allowed to spend $438,000 in the weeks before they return to play for salaries and other costs and then $510,000 when games resume, reducing football department spending by 40 per cent as part of drastic cost-cutting measures deemed necessary for the competition's survival.
Victorian clubs will be allowed to train in groups of 10 from Monday, which is in line with current restrictions in place in South Australia and Western Australia.
The AFL is not likely to formally announce their restart plans until Wednesday or Thursday.
Victorian sports minister Martin Pakula on Tuesday gave the green light to interstate clubs using Melbourne as a temporary base.
"We'd be comfortable with Western Australian teams being part of any appropriate quarantine arrangement [in Victoria] if that's the way they choose to go," Pakula said.
"I'm still hopeful that Western Australian teams can play in Western Australia and I'm sure that's what the Eagles and the Dockers would prefer.
"But it's a matter for [WA Premier] Mark McGowan and the Western Australian government, and ultimately for them and the AFL to come to a conclusion about."
With AAP