By TERRY MADDAFORD
After five years of winter football, New Zealand's national league is headed back to summer.
Soccer New Zealand board members have given the go-ahead for the planned new-look league which, if accepted by clubs at a special meeting on August 14, would see a summer league in place for
an October 26 kick-off next year.
To reaffirm their intentions of doing everything possible to get the best from domestic football, the board has also endorsed plans for a subsidiary seven-team national youth (under-20) league to be played over the second half of the first summer league. Matches will be played as curtainraisers.
If successful, the youth league could be extended to a two-round championship in subsequent seasons.
After its pathfinding early years, soccer took a jump on other New Zealand codes in 1970, establishing the first major national club competition. But in the past decade the sport, domestically, has fallen on rocky times. The old-style national league ended in 1992, replaced by the loosely-named Superclub Championship. After two years, that was shelved and replaced by three seasons of summer league before that, too, was axed.
In 1998 the country was split for separate North and South Island leagues. That was a one-season wonder with the national [winter] league back in 1999.
After two seasons, and with one more to come, the winter competition will again be shown the red card.
New Zealand Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan said yesterday: "We are determined to get back to where we know we should be.
"To ensure the competition is of the highest standard - on and off the pitch - we need to make changes."
The end-of-season top four play-offs will remain. The bottom team will again have to play-off with the three regional winners for the 10th and last league spot.
Clubs must meet strict criteria or face a loss of points or suspension.
To maintain interest in next year's Southern Trust National League (scheduled for a February 24 start and June 16 finish but with no top four play-offs), the winner of that competition will represent New Zealand in the November 2002 Oceania play-offs for the world club championship.
The last-placed team in next winter's league will be relegated and replaced in the inaugural summer league by the winner of the three-team (regional) play-offs.
The 2002-2003 summer league will take a break from December 15 to January 19 and be completed by April 2003.
In a major change, clubs will be able to nominate their preferred kick-off time and days for home games. At present all games are given a 2 pm, Sunday kick-off.
The Chatham Cup will continue but under a revised format.
Clubs playing in their normal regional winter competitions will continue as present until the last 22 teams (nationwide) are found.
They will then be joined by the 10 national (summer) league clubs for the round of 32 on September 21. Cup games will continue over successive weeks through to the October 19 final. The summer league will start a week later.
An added match, the Champion of Champions, between the league and cup winners will be played each season.
By TERRY MADDAFORD
After five years of winter football, New Zealand's national league is headed back to summer.
Soccer New Zealand board members have given the go-ahead for the planned new-look league which, if accepted by clubs at a special meeting on August 14, would see a summer league in place for
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