Tassie soccer revamp
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 themercury.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397 CHANGES loom for the competition structure of NPL, WSL and Southern Championships soccer in 2020 and beyond as a result of an independent review conducted on behalf of Football Tasmania.
NPL Tas will now be an eight-team league including all current participants and the newly formed Clarence Zebras following the announcement midweek by Hobart Zebras and Clarence United to merge the two clubs. The Southern Championship and Championship One competitions will expand from the start of next season to include all southern NPL clubs, which will be required to field a team in all three competitions.
Football Tasmania president Bob Gordon said: “It’s difficult to balance the competing priorities of the various parts of the game but we feel we have achieved decisions and subsequent outcomes which are in the best interests of football throughout the state.
“This review provides a vision and road map for the game in the next 10 years and beyond and will allow us to build on our very large participation base.”
In the women’s game, Football Tasmania announced the continuation of the Women’s Super League for 2020 and beyond with hopes to grow the competition in years ahead.
“We are working hard on having a NPLW competition in the years ahead and we believe this will position us well to achieve this objective,” Gordon said.
Future changes have also been announced, set to be introduced in the wake of the new licence period starting in 2022. Football Tasmania has suspended promotion and relegation from the NPL until the licence renewal, as well as establishing plans to introduce an NPL statewide reserves competition which will be a requirement for all clubs participating in the NPL.
The review outlined the need for Tasmanian youth players to have a better pathway to top-level football in Tasmania, the A-League, WLeague and beyond. As a result, Football Tasmania plans a Northern and Southern Youth Championship league in the coming years for those looking to make it to the next level.
“Football in Tasmania is in great shape, but there’s still more that needs to be done,” Football Tasmania CEO Matt Bulkeley said. “We need to make sure all our competitions across all age groups and levels can evolve, respond and adapt to change.”