To our Football Community,

Thanks for all of your efforts in ensuring that we’ve been able to complete a football season, something that was looking highly doubtful when football was suspended back in March.

From the time that the suspension was first announced, an extraordinary amount of effort has been put in by everyone to ensure that we have been able to get to this point while navigating through the various phases including the suspension of football period, non-contact training, contact training and then resumption of matches.

To the club committees and volunteers. You have been absolutely incredible in taking on extra work and responsibilities well and truly beyond the expectations of a ‘normal’ season. Your communication with your members, being flexible and adaptable to an ever-changing set of guidelines has showed your devotion to your community. Speaking to people around the grounds this year, I know that your efforts have been very much appreciated by those who kick around a ball each weekend and by the parents who get so much enjoyment from seeing their children having fun.

They’re often forgotten but our referees also had to adapt and learn in different ways. Online learning became the new way of doing things while maintaining their physical fitness in isolation to ensure they hit the ground running once the season restarted.

During the suspension of football period, the relationship between Football Brisbane and its clubs became closer than we’ve probably ever seen before. Each fortnight, online meetings were held between Club Committee Members and the Football Brisbane Staff and Board. The time taken by clubs to engage and positively contribute in these forums, remaining open to all possible options for a football season showed what we can truly achieve when we all move together in the one direction.

When the football season resumed, we had our speed bumps. One of those was the unfortunate circumstances that Park Ridge FC found themselves in through no fault of their own, having to act selflessly in suspending their operations for almost a fortnight. To you in particular, thanks for the additional effort you took in acting in the best interests of football. Thanks must also go to the other clubs that provided you with much-needed support in what were trying times.

Finally, thank you to the Football Brisbane staff. We are a small group but what we lack in size, we make up in dedication and wanting to provide the best service and experience possible for our members. Despite the uncertainty of their own jobs, they continued to act professionally while on reduced hours, always focused on what was good for the game. Having to establish a season once a year is a difficult job in itself but having to do it a second time while also navigating through a complex set of requirements and guidelines makes me extremely proud to be the leader of a wonderful group of people.

We still have some way to go as a broader society in navigating our way through the ‘new-normal’.  While we’ve been very fortunate in Queensland not to have any major outbreaks, we must all remain vigilant and COVID-Safe so that we can return to the park once more next year.

I look forward to seeing you all back for the kick-off of the 2021 season.

Regards,

Rafe Griffin

General Manager, Football Brisbane