Club accepts merger

BOOST: Jeremy Rintoul - shown here fending off two Central Brown defenders at Waipapa in July - played for both Kerikeri premiers (in the Northland Men's Premier Division) and North Force during the 2015 season. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED

THE NEWS of the restructuring of the North Force franchise has been welcomed as a massive boost by the Kerikeri Football Club.

Kerikeri FC spokesman James Coleman said having the Far North club included in the merger to jointly own and govern the regional football entity known as North Force AFC could only be a good thing for the game at both grassroots and higher levels.

"It's a new beginning," said Coleman.

"This [initiative] had the potential to pull this [North Force] in a different direction."

Coleman was referring to the recent announcement that, for the first time in more than 15 years, several Northland senior football clubs are poised to unite under the North Force banner. Following 18 months of planning, current North Force owners - Kamo and Tikipunga FC - have agreed to share the ownership and governance of Northland regional football equally alongside Kerikeri, Bream Bay, Central Brown, FC Whangarei and Onerahi.

Coleman said to have all the clubs sitting around the table, with delegates from each organisation to meet once a month, would be mutually beneficial to all. However, he was also aware the changeover won't necessarily enjoy smooth sailing all the way.

"There'll still be clubs wanting to push their own agendas. If it fails, if it doesn't work, at least we can say we tried.

"If it kept going the way it was, it was going to fall off anyway," he said.

He emphasised the initiative won't stop local clubs from continuing to enter the prestigious Chatham Cup tournament, instead of endorsing one elite team - North Force - to represent the province at the prestigious national knockout championship.