The A-League and W-League have been forced into a major fixture reshuffle following a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, with almost half of the first 35 games to be rescheduled for a later date.
The northern beaches cluster in Sydney grew to 90 on Tuesday after seven new cases were recorded.
In response to the outbreak, both leagues shuffled its fixtures in a way that would allow all the New South Wales-based sides to play each other for the next four weeks. That will leave sides based outside of NSW free to play each other without having to worry about border restrictions.
Out of the first 35 games of the recently-released A-League fixtures, 17 of those now have a "To Be Confirmed" tag and will need to be rescheduled in line with government travel and health advice.
In the W-League, five games out of the first 40 games have been brought forward while 15 remain unchanged. The rest will be rescheduled when advice is released.
The grand final rematch between Sydney FC and Melbourne City that was planned for Dec. 30 was one of the games that will have to be rescheduled.
The A-League and W-League seasons will have a joint kick-off on Dec. 27 -- the first time the two competitions have begun on the same date.
Bankwest Stadium will host the Western Sydney-Sydney W-League clash, before the Wanderers take on expansion club Macurther FC in the A-League opener.
Wellington Phoenix were originally scheduled to open their season against Brisbane Roar on Dec. 29 at Dolphin Stadium in Brisbane.
But with all travellers from NSW forced to spend two weeks in quarantine after entering Queensland, the Phoenix will now open their season against Sydney FC on Jan. 2 at their adopted home -- WIN stadium -- in Wollongong.
The Phoenix are basing themselves in Wollongong for the 2020-21 season due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
Brisbane will now host Melbourne City in a W-League/A-League double header on Dec. 29. Sydney FC beat Melbourne City 1-0 in extra time in a dramatic grand final last season, but fans will have to wait to see the rematch.
"It is unfortunate as it was set to be a remarkable occasion, however we must accept the decision in the best interests of the A-League and Westfield W-League," Sydney FC chief executive Danny Townsend said.
"New South Wales has some coronavirus issues right now. However, if we can fulfil fixtures both here and around the country by rescheduling, then we must do what we can to achieve this."
Melbourne Victory, who were quarantining in NSW after arriving back from the Asian Champions League, were granted an exemption by the Victorian government this week, meaning they don't have to spend another two weeks in quarantine when they fly back to Melbourne.
Perth Glory are out of quarantine following their own ACL campaign, and will kick off their season at home to Adelaide on Jan. 16.
Western Australia's border with South Australia is currently closed, but WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced it will reopen on Christmas.