THE reduction of the pre-season AFL Community Series to only one match per club is sad news for AFL supporters on the Coffs Coast.

The announcement of a new pre-season fixture on Sunday revealed that the planned clash between the Sydney Swans and Collingwood to be played at the C.ex Coffs International Stadium on 3 March will not be played.

The AFL’s executive general manager of clubs and broadcasting, Travis Auld, said the updated fixture aimed to protect the health and safety of the competition and the community by reducing travel ahead of the AFL’s premiership season.

Coffs Harbour was one of several regional communities that had originally been scheduled to host pre-season games.

Other regions included Albury), Morwell (Vic), Noarlunga and Whyalla (SA) and Mandurah (WA).

Mr Auld said it’s highly likely Coffs Harbour and the other affected regions won’t be overlooked in the future.

“Each of those regions play an extremely important role in our game and the decision to revise the series was made to protect the health and safety of the competition and the wider community which remains the priority for the league,” he said.

“It is communities like these that are the heartbeat of Australian Football and we hope to be able to return to each of those areas and play games there in the future.”