Wairarapa United may have to withdraw two of their four teams contesting junior inter-club soccer competitions in the Wellington region.
Halving their participation there is being considered seriously as an option after Wairarapa United failed to receive the green light from the Masterton Licensing Trust for funding assistance for training attire
and equipment plus travel expenses. Wairarapa United spokesman Phil Keinzley said being given the thumbs down by the MLT for the second time in the last 10 months was "disappointing and frustrating" for his club.
"It's difficult to see how we could miss out when you look at their criteria for grants, from what we can see they always put support for kids first and that's certainly the area where we need the assistance most," Keinzley said, adding that the club's junior players already pay a subscription of $75 and did fund raising on their own account. "It's not like we are just sitting back and waiting for someone else to keep the teams viable, nothing like that at all," he said.
What concerns Keinzley is the fact that with Wairarapa United having the Masterton Horse and Hound as their main sponsor the MLT may be taking that into account when deciding their fate in the grant allocation process.
"I would hate to think that has anything to do with us being turned down, certainly there's no mention of it being a factor in the criteria either," he said.
Keinzley said it was noticeable that many of the clubs in Wellington were hugely dependent on financial assistance from licensing trusts operating in that part of the country.
"If they can get that level of support then why can't we?" he asked.
Keinzley said withdrawing any of their junior teams would be the "absolute last resort" for Wairarapa United as playing against formidable opposition in Wellington on a weekly basis was doing nothing but good for the players involved.
"It's the biggest contingent of Wairarapa juniors that has ever played in the capital competitions and it's a very positive step for soccer in our region," he said. "But it's a very costly exercise and, unfortunately, that's the bottom line."
