19-18 Vote For Club Soccer League In N.Z.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31188, 12 October 1966, Page 18

19-18 Vote For Club Soccer League In N.Z.

By a majority of one, a special meeting of Canterbury soccer clubs last evening voted for the formation of a national league of clubs teams in New Zealand.

The meeting, voting 19 in favour and 18 against, instructed the Canterbury Football Association delegates to support a club league when the four major soccer associations— Auckland, Wellington. Canterbury and Otago —meet in Christchurch on October 29.

Unless the other three major associations change their stated policies in the meantime, three provinces (Auckland, Canterbury, and Otago) will vote for a club league and one (Wellington) for a provincial league. The Canterbury F.A. had previously been in favour of provincial league. Proposing that Canterbury should put its full support behind a club league, Mr L. Gray (Technical) asked the club delegates to reaffirm the decision of clubs in 1963

when they had voted, 23-15, in favour of entering two teams into a national club league. He reminded delegates that this vote was in favour of a national league scheme proposed by the N.Z.F.A. councillor, Mr G. L. Whyte. This had suggested a 10-team league, the teams to he formed by the amalgamation of existing clubs and the setting up of a New Zealand Football League separate to the N.Z.F.A. to administer the competition. Mr Gray said that the C.F.A. management committee “had assumed. quite wrongly, that the clubs in Canterbury supported a provincial league.”

"We believe that only a national club league can produce a strong and constructive soccer competition in New Zea land." he said.

Seconding the proposal, Mr E. Adam (Rangers) said that clubs were the backbone of soccer in New Zealand today, and that a national club league would be in the best interests of NewZealand soccer. Lacks Organisation “The C.F.A. lacks the organisa. tlon, the backing and the finance to run successfully a provincial league,” he said. "Clubs had the facilities and the ability to raise the money that would be needed to finance a club league. ■ "Provincial league had been tried and had failed In the Eng. lish F.A. Trophy. A national league on a club basis had never been tried Until it was tried, no-one could say it would be a failure."

Mr Adam said that the proposed cost for Canterbury entering a provincial league of the four major associations was £678. “This was £3 short of the whole gate for last season for all games, Including representative matches.”

“The question of whether Canterbury should support club or provincial league was a matter of finance," said Mr M. Shardlow (Rangers). "There are four or five clubs In Canterbury more powerfully placed financially than the C.F.A. These clubs, uniting fo the purpose of producing a national league team, could find the finance necessary.” Guarantee Finance Mr M. W. McKenzie, of the management committee, said

that before clubs could talk about participating In a national league they must guar antee the finance would be available. Three times the C.F.A. treasurer. Mr N. R Dixon, asked the clubs to state whether they would finance the whole team themselves or whether they would have to ask for help from the C.F.A.

“It would be Impossible for the C.F.A. to help finance a national league club and con tinuc its representative fixtures and administer soccer for the good of all the clubs,” he said ••The smaller clubs would bo crushed out of soccer,” said Mr R. van der Monde.

Mr W. Weir (Christchurch Citv) said that there was no question that the clubs would put up the finance. Mr Adam said that it was impossible at this stage for the clubs to state how they would raise the finance.

“The question of gates comes into this and this would have to be negotiated with the C.F.A. management committee, he said. Becoming Wasto Of Timo A vice-president, Mr W. Car ruthers. said the meeting was becoming a waste of time. Neither the clubs nor the C.F.A were prepared to work together He was sure that there would be a substantial vote in favour of a club league if the clubs would guarantee they could raise the whole finance for entering a team into a national league. If they could not, a vote was unnecessary.

The management committee chairman, Mr J. Smith, said that the whole matter kept coming back to finance. The C.F.A. was committed to an outlay of £678 for playing in the national provincial league, and this sum would be less than that paid out over the last two seasons for representative fixtures

• The C.F.A. Rive its support to a provincial league on the recommendation of the national coach, Mr L. Brocic, and the national council had accepted that recommendation. “That is why, more or less, we have gone along the lines of a provincial league.” he said. Five Abstained When the vote was taken five delegates abstained, including Mr Smith. Had he voted in favour of the C.F.A.'B policy of provincial league he would have tied the voting at 19-each. As chairman, he would then have been in a position to use his casting vote.

Before the meeting began, Mr Smith read a letter from the N.Z.F.A. council in which it was stated that the basis of the dis cussion between the major associations on October 29 and the only item on the agenda would be national league and the development of regional leagues.

The four associations would be allowed to send three delegates but only ont would be able to vote, and they must have the authority to make decisions.

The C.F.A.’s three delegates will be Messrs Smith, McKenzie and R. Storer.