Australia’s A-League Provides Soccer Fix During Self-Isolation

“24-hour, year-long, endless football… football is officially going on forever,” said British comedian David Mitchell in his famous sketch about the never-ending amount of soccer on British TV. Now, over a decade since the sketch first aired, it is finally feeling a bit out-of-date.

The non-stop calendar of 3 p.m. on a Saturday, Super Sundays, Monday Night Soccer, the Champions League and Europa League has suddenly ground to a halt. In a cruel irony, people stuck inside self-isolating because of COVID-19, unable to go to the pub or restaurant, and rapidly running out of Netflix shows to watch, need soccer on the TV now more than ever.

For soccer-junkies needing their fix of last-ditch tackles and dodgy offside calls, there are a few leagues around the world that haven’t been postponed, and the most accessible of those is probably Australia’s A-League.

With matches aired on Youtube with English commentary, the league is easy to get into. But you’ll have to be a bit of a night owl or early riser if you want to watch the games in the UK or the US as the time difference means most games take place in the middle of the New York night, or as Londoners are finishing off their breakfast.

The A-League is a little closer to completion than leagues in Europe as most A-League teams have around six matches left to play in the regular season, so the league has decided to play these matches behind closed doors in as short a time as possible to give them the best chance of finishing the season.

But the league isn’t immune from COVID-19, with several games involving Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix postponed this weekend as both teams are under a two-week quarantine after returning from New Zealand. Wellington will also play the remainder of their games in Australia to avoid these travel restrictions, and will face six games in three weeks once their quarantine period is over.

With the situation changing day by day, there is always a chance that the remaining games could get postponed should the Australian government restrict movement within the country or should several players catch COVID-19.

The league’s decision to keep playing during the outbreak hasn’t been universally welcomed. There are obvious concerns about player safety, and without fans to watch, a soccer match can feel like the proverbial tree falling in an empty forest.

But with leagues in Europe needing to fulfill their fixtures amid the outbreak in order to fulfill billion-dollar TV rights deals and avoid lawsuits over promotion and relegation, the A-League could provide Europe with a way of solving the fixture problems caused by the outbreak.

It’s not a perfect solution, but while soccer without fans is “nothing”, it’s still better than watching a re-run of Mrs. Brown’s Boys.

Here are this weekend’s A-League fixtures: 

Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne City

Friday 17:30 AEDT (London Fri. 6:30 AM, New York Fri. 2:30 AM, Los Angeles Thurs. 11:30 PM)

Central Coast might be glad that there are no fans to watch them this week. Rock-bottom of the A-League, the Mariners have lost their last nine matches. They face second-placed Melbourne City, whose 64-year-old head coach Erick Mombaerts is staying in Melbourne rather than traveling to away games so that he can reduce his chances of catching COVID-19.

Brisbane Roar v Newcastle Jets

Friday 19:30 AEDT (London Fri. 8:30 AM, New York Fri. 4:30 AM, Los Angeles Fri. 1:30 AM)

Despite being managed by former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, fourth-place Brisbane Roar are struggling for goals this season. They are on good form at the moment with six wins in their last nine games. Their opponents Newcastle Jets might be near the foot of the table, but they are on a six-match unbeaten run.

Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC

Saturday 19:30 AEDT (London Sat. 8:30 AM, New York Sat. 4:30 AM, Los Angeles Sat. 1:30 AM)

The Sydney derby is probably the clash of the weekend. Western Sydney Wanderers might be the only Australian side to be named champions of Asia, but this season, their crosstown rivals are getting all the glory. Sydney FC are cruising at the top of the table, ten points clear of second place, thanks partly to the goals of former Reading and Bolton Wanderers striker Adam Le Fondre who leads the A-League scoring charts.

Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City

Monday 19:30 AEDT (London Mon. 8:30 AM, New York Mon. 4:30 AM, Los Angeles Mon. 1:30 AM)

After matches on Friday, both Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City are back in action on Monday due to the condensed schedule, with Mombaerts again absent from the Melbourne dugout.

Perth Glory v Western United

Monday 21:30 AEDT (London Mon 10:30 AM, New York Mon 6:30 AM, Los Angeles Mon 3:30 AM)

Perth Glory topped the A-League table last season, but lost the Grand Final on penalties to Sydney FC. This season, they’re stuck in mid-table along with Western United, who only joined the A-League this season and have a team built around former Italian international Alessandro Diamante and A-League legend Besart Berisha, who is battling Le Fondre and Melbourne City’s Jamie MacLaren for the league’s golden boot.