Following the government’s move to Alert Level 4 last night after a community case of COVID-19 was discovered, New Zealand Football can confirm that all community football and futsal across the country, as well as National League, Chatham Cup and NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup matches, are suspended this weekend (21/22 August 2021). 

While only Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula are currently set to be at Alert Level 4 for the weekend, with the rest of the country’s initial three-day period set to end on Friday 20 August, due to the short turnaround time between moving down Alert Levels, and the possibility of a lockdown extension, the decision has been taken to suspend all activity out of an abundance of caution. 

Daniel Farrow, General Manager, Football at New Zealand Football said:

“We never want to be in the position of suspending activity across Aotearoa but to give clubs and players certainty, New Zealand Football and our federations believe this is the best decision for the game.”

“Even if the areas outside of Auckland and the Coromandel do exit Alert Level 4 after three days, it gives clubs very little time to make the necessary preparations for activity the next day. With the Delta strain of the virus we felt it made sense to not rush this process and make the decision now to allow clubs to inform their members in good time." 

At Alert Level 4 all football and futsal activity is suspended across the country. This includes this weekend’s semi-finals of New Zealand Football’s cup competitions where Miramar Rangers v North Shore United and Cashmere Technical v Western Suburbs in the Chatham Cup, plus Coastal Spirit v Hamilton Wanderers and Wellington United v Eastern Suburbs in the NZ Football Foundation Kate Sheppard Cup, will be rescheduled. 

For information on what activity is permitted at Alert Level 4 please visit Sport NZ’s website. New Zealand Football will be publishing football and futsal specific return to play guidance when Alert Level changes allow activity to resume.

Article added: Wednesday 18 August 2021