Strange But True Dept:
Monster 18-team 2010 northern premier league...
The Lotto-sponsored men’s regional league has been restructured, paving the way for the inclusion of 10 clubs from the United Soccer 1 federation and an additional club, Matamata Swifts AFC, from the Waikato Bay of Plenty Football in the 34-club competition.
The expansion comes after clubs from the United Soccer 1 federation (who spent the last two years playing in their own competition after being forcibly withdrawn from the old northern league) were allowed back in.
The 2010 competition will kick off in mid-March with an initial two-tier system – an 18-team premier league and a 16-team first division – in which each club will play the others once.
Based on their finishing position from that first stage, the clubs then split out into one of four sections and will complete the season over a seven to nine round stretch which will reveal Premier League, first division and second division champions.
From that point, the finishing order of the teams will determine their placing in a more traditional three-division competition for the beginning of the 2011 season with the process of promotion and relegation into and from the league still to be finalised.
The six highest-placed finishers from the 2009 United Soccer 1 Premiership have been invited to begin life in the initial premier league tier of the 2010 Lotto NRFL while the next four clubs from that competition will join Matamata Swifts AFC in the first division.
Each club’s participation will be confirmed after Auckland Football, who will again run the Lotto NRFL from their offices at Mt Smart Stadium, receive entry documents from the invited clubs.
The revised competition also includes a mirrored reserve league with each club’s reserve side following their first team throughout the season, regardless of which section of the league a club’s top side find themselves in during 2010.
Auckland Football Federation CEO David Parker says the expanded league is a great outcome logistically and for overall development.
“We’ve always said we want the Lotto NRFL to be the strongest possible competition on and off the field,” Parker said.
“The introduction of clubs from the United Soccer 1 federation not only boosts the playing strength and depth of our competition but also enhances our reputation as the top regional league in the country.
“One of the hurdles that we had to overcome in including the clubs from United Soccer 1 was determining where and how they should enter the league.
“The solution we’ve arrived at after consultation with our clubs provides an exciting league meaning every game is vital as clubs look to measure themselves on the pitch against the region’s top talent with positioning in the 2011 league a target for all involved.
“The ultimate reason for the Lotto NRFL competition is as a step on the pathway towards the higher level football in the NZFC and beyond. We believe our three-federation league strengthens and streamlines that exciting journey for our players, coaches and referees.”
United Soccer 1 chairman Michael Anderson says the move back into regional competition was something the new board of the federation backed from the outset.
“After talking with the clubs in our region and listening to feedback from many sources, we decided to act quickly and consequently sought to join the Lotto NRFL competition as soon as possible.
“We look forward to playing our part in what we believe will be a strong and vibrant competition in 2010 and beyond.”
Acting general manager for Waikato Bay of Plenty Football Cameron Mitchell - himself a Melville United player - says his federation is proud to have been part of the first two seasons of the Lotto NRFL competition and echoes Parker’s view of a streamlined league being best for all concerned.
“We’ve always been of the belief that a three-federation regional league is the best way forward for our game at senior level and we’re excited to be part a 2010 competition which makes that desire a reality,” Mitchell said.
“We’re delighted to be able to continue our contribution to the Lotto NRFL and extend it further this season with the introduction of our own federation champions; Matamata Swifts AFC.”
Meanwhile, the Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier League remains in the same league format as last season with the possibility of a triple round robin depending on the number of entries from clubs across the three federations.
Click here for a diagram illustrating the league structure of the 2010 Lotto NRFL men's competition.
Have YOUR say in the Melville forum.
Clubs invited for Lotto NRFL men's competition 2010 - phase 1 (club federation)
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Premier League |
Division 1 |
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Albany Utd (US1) |
Birkenhead Utd AFC (US1) |
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Bay Olympic (AFF) |
Cambridge FC (WAI) |
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Central Utd FC (AFF) |
Ellerslie AFC (AFF) |
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East Coast Bays AFC (US1) |
Fencibles Utd AFC (AFF) |
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Eastern Suburbs AFC (AFF) |
Hibiscus Coast AFC (US1) |
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Forrest Hill-Milford Utd AFC (US1) |
Mangere Utd (AFF) |
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Glenfield Rovers AFC (US1) |
Matamata Swifts AFC (WAI) |
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Hamilton Wanderers (WAI) |
Mt Albert-Ponsonby AFC (AFF) |
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Lynn-Avon Utd AFC (AFF) |
North Force AFC (US1) |
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Manurewa AFC (AFF) |
North Shore Utd (US1) |
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Melville Utd (WAI) |
Onehunga Mangere Utd AFC (AFF) |
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Metro FC (AFF) |
Papakura City FC (AFF) |
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Ngaruawahia Utd AFC (WAI) |
Pukekohe AFC (AFF) |
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Onehunga Sports (AFF) |
Tauranga City Utd AFC (WAI) |
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Papatoetoe AFC (AFF) |
Waiuku AFC (AFF) |
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Takapuna AFC (US1) |
Western Springs AFC (AFF) |
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Three Kings Utd (AFF) |
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Waitakere City (US1) |
Melville finalists again
Melville United has been named as a finalist in the Club of the Year category at the Waikato Regional Sports Awards.
The award winner will be named at the awards dinner at Mystery Creek on December 10. Melville enjoyed a landmark 2009 year in which it won the northern premier league, installed spectator seating at Gower Park, added a scoreboard, new signage and deck to the clubrooms. The club also successfully hosted the Northern Premier League grand final, the Hamilton Ethnic Football Festival, the Malcolm Cowie Cup schoolboy tournament, the Waikato Cup final, and increased the size of its summer 6-a-side tournament to 30 teams.
Other finalists are Morrinsville Rugby & Sports Club, Otorohanga Netball Centre, Patetonga Motorcycle Club, Taupo Motorcycle Club, and Te Rapa Rugby Club.
Melville's northern premier league team is also a finalist in Club Team of the Year - an award it won in 2003. It is up against Kiokio United Women's Power Pulling team, Morrinsville Rugby Senior A, Taniwharau premier rugby league, Waihi Women bowls, and Waitete senior rugby.
Meanwhile Melville life member Dave Maisey is a finalist in the Service to Sport category for his work with Special Olympics.
Club members wishing to book a seat at the Melville table for the awards dinner should contact Andrea Timings.
Melville AGM:
Life sentence for Williams
21.11.2009: Melville United coach Steve Williams has been elected as a life member of the club.
At the Melville AGM president Bruce Holloway said life membership was the highest honour that could be bestowed on members and was awarded for outstanding service, generally reflecting a members long-standing duty to the club.
Williams was unanimously elected a life member after the meeting considered the nomination and statement of case forwarded by another life member, Steve Owens.
"I don’t believe any member, past or present, has had the impact on our club that Steve has delivered over the last 19 years," Owens said in a statement.
Steve has served as a player, coach, sponsor and worker, motivating the people around him and developing a culture of pride and success in our club. He is admired in soccer circles throughout the country for his expertise and has brought pride and respect to our club.
"When he first signed on as our senior coach, Steve didn’t want payment but he wanted commitment from me and from the club. He wanted to work with winners and insisted we develop our image and our facilities – we started with getting our image right, delivering a professional image.
"We didn’t want to pay players but we wanted our players to have the best gear and for our club to have the best facilities – that way Steve believed we would build player loyalty and a sustainable future for our club. Bus travel to away games, up-grading our training lights and erecting a crowd barrier fence around the No 1 pitch soon followed. Ever since then, each year has been a programme of continual improvement."
Williams has continued to be a driving force in club projects, and this year led work on the changing rooms upgrade, the new deck and the new signage.
Williams' comment in the recent Waikato Times report on our premier league title win further underlined how he viewed his role within the club.
“I’m just happy the whole day went to plan. I’m not just about the game and the players, I’m about the whole product and the whole product was there today and I think the club really should be congratulated for their efforts.”
It is all about the whole product, which is what makes a club. But the club is foremost about people like Steve Williams, and for this the Melville AGM was proud to induct him as a life member.
Williams was in Queenstown and could not be present.
But in a message to the meeting he said he was delighted to be recognised, though it was not something he had targeted as a "must-do".
"To the contrary, to be part of a club, the community and to just try to get a job done and done right was more of a motivating factor," he said. "To be involved with like-minded people who have the same objectives is far more satisfying than winning league titles and trophies.
"To leave a legacy of history, buildings and facilities, relationships with community leaders and something that will carry on regardless of how the teams finish in their respective leagues is far more important to the longevity of any club.
"I think we are on our way - we must be, we are still here when many clubs have fell by the wayside through lack of vision and being able to put things in place.
"We had a great season as a club this year the challenge now as Bruce (Holloway) would put it is to look at what we did this year and improve on it. They will only be small improvements, but every little bit helps. Thank you. There is still a lot to do."
Meanwhile Melville reported a profit of $15,794 on its annual balance sheet, after depreciation of $20,926. While grant funding dropped $7000, sponsorship was up by over $8000, and treasurer Rory Noorland said the move to a "club card" system of membership had paid off in terms of bar activity.
In his annual report Holloway said it had been a landmark year in which the club had achieved many of the 5-year objectives and visions it set itself in its 2008-13 strategic plan.
"We have re-established ourselves as the top performing men’s team in the northern region of New Zealand by winning the northern premier league, and have also made huge strides in facility development and building the culture of the game... This has been my fifth consecutive year as president, and easily the most satisfying."
# The Married team beat the Singles 4-2 to win the Brian Coe Trophy in the pre-AGM match. It was the first time in living memory the Marrieds had won, a fact which kept skipper Stu Timings relatively humble in his victory speech. Raj Naidu was unavailable for the Singles.
