Dear Futsal South Schools, Parents and Players;

Today the New Zealand Government confirmed that due to the ongoing containment efforts regarding Covid-19 - events or gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled. In addition, it was announced there will be further advice by the end of this week in regard to medium and small sized events.

Tonight Football South staff met to discuss how this affects our upcoming events and competitions, with the immediate concern being around the current Schools Futsal Leagues operating across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the next few weeks at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin.

It is essential that decisions are made quickly to allow our stakeholders to be prepared and informed. We predict the attendance at Futsal (including players, referees, parents etc) over the coming week will, at times, be between 500 – 3,000 people. As such, we have taken the decision to suspend the schools futsal competitions (across all leagues) for the coming week. This decision has not been taken lightly, and it’s purpose is to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our members and their Whānau.

Over the coming days we will work with the Dunedin City Council, Edgar Centre, and NZ Football to understand the latest Ministry of Health and New Zealand Government advice and how this applies to our competitions and events moving forward.

I want to reiterate that at this point, only the coming weeks’ Futsal games will be suspended (intended to be played at future dates), no decision has yet been made about the remainder of the competition. We will be communicating with you towards the end of the week with more information on this.

Until then, please feel free to contact us should you have any queries. I thank you for your understanding and support of our decision, as it has been made following national requirements, and in the best interest of everyone’s health.  

Kind Regards,

Chris Wright | Football South CEO