National Soccer League Approved By N.Z.F.A.

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30741, 4 May 1965, Page 19

National Soccer League Approved By N.Z.F.A.

(By our Soccer Reporter.)

The New Zealand Football Association council has approved the establishment of a national soccer league between the four main provincial associations.

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin teams will play home-and-away games, and the council will prepare a scheme to start the competition as soon as possible.

The formation of the league was urged in the recent report submitted to the N.Z.F.A. by the national coach, Mr L. Brocic. He stressed the competition should begin this season.

Mr Brocic's other suggestion that he should concentrate on setting up coaching centres in the four main cities and in Hamilton as a first step in preparing for New Zealand’s entry into the 1968 or 1972 Olympic Games soccer competition, was also approved by the representative committee when it met in Wellington last week-end. Under-20 Team

Canterbury was given permission to enter an under-20 team in the Australian interstate tournament in August. Canterbury played in the under-19 tournament at Adelaide last year, as winner of

the Junior National Cup, and was invited by Australian soccer officials to return this year. The council gave its permission on the condition the names of the players selected and the team manager should be sent to the N.Z.F.A., and the team should be properly equipped. It wanted no repetition of the adverse publicity of last year when the N.Z.F.A. was criticised for sending away the team without official blazers. Curtain-raisers The council has not been able to arrange with the touring English clubs, Sheffield United and Blackpool, for their combined reserves to play against provincial teams as curtain-raisers during the 8.0.A.C. round robin tournament -this month. The Wellington and Auckland associations were both given one week to account for the Easter tournament matches played in their cities and a further week to send

to the N.Z.F.A. the money due to it. Only Canterbury and Otago had made their returns at the weekend. The meeting was the second held by the direct representative committee which was established during the last annual meeting. The committee will meet three or four times a year, and these will replace the usual halfyearly meeting of the N.Z.F.A. Canterbury was represented by its president, Mr J. Smith.