The decision was announced this afternoon.
With Victoria and New South Wales set to introduce strict shutdowns over the next 48 hours and South Australia and Western Australia announcing they will be closing their borders, this year’s AFL season has been suspended and the AFLW has been cancelled.
“The AFL industry is facing its biggest financial crisis in our history,” said AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan.
“It was the right decision to start the season, and clearly it is now the right decision to stop. That is why we have acted immediately to take this step to play our role in the community and to protect the long-term future of our game,” he added.
An alternative schedule for the remaining 144 games plus finals for this season will be discussed over the coming weeks, with McLachlan saying he is willing to push the season as far into late 2020 as necessary.
The 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season will be suspended at the conclusion of this weekend’s matches. pic.twitter.com/5PLewJ5ZPs
— AFL (@AFL) March 22, 2020
Read Gillon McLachlan’s full statement here.
