Football: Claudelands Rovers to return to Northern League

All smiles for the Claudelands Rovers womens team as they get down to business to prepare for the start of the 2020 season. Photo / Warren Jones

After two months of hoping, Claudelands Rovers premier women's team is on the cusp of returning to the LottoNRFL Premier League, after a one-year absence.

The Auckland Football Federation confirmed that the amalgamation between Three Kings United and Onehunga Sports has been completed, which has created a ripple effect across the league.

In the LottoNRFL premier women's team, Three Kings United's spot has been relinquished allowing Claudelands to move up due to contesting the Vacancy Playoff Series last season.

In 2019 the Claudelands women's team secured the Waibop W-League title in dominant fashion, and narrowly lost to Ellerslie 4-2 in the playoff series.

The news of Claudelands return to the league has been met with mixed reactions with some internet commenters, but former Claudelands Premier Women's coach Dave Edmondson congratulated the team on Twitter, and told them to make the most of it.

Prior to entering the league, Claudelands will need to show they can satisfy the NRFL participation criteria for the level they will play in for the 2020 season, including fielding a reserve team.

It had been a long two months for the Hamilton side, waiting to find out what league they would be contesting.

Last week, director of football for Claudelands Mark Cossey called for more support in the region for women's football.

He was concerned by the time taken to make a decision, and said allowing Claudelands back into the league would be the best choice for all.

"This is about offering women in the Waikato region another top team to develop at," Cossey said.

"As of right now Hamilton Wanderers are the only team who can offer Waikato players northern league football. They are doing a great job for the region under Stephen Cox, but they can also only field a certain amount of players each game, leaving some to miss out.

"We want to develop strong players in the region. Claudelands is known as a club that has had a strong emphasis on women's football in the past."