NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE Council Ratifies 1970 After Muddled Vote

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32117, 13 October 1969, Page 16

NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE Council Ratifies 1970 After Muddled Vote

(ty Out Soectr Kuporttr) After a typically muddling debate and vote, final ratification for the national soccer league to start next year was given by the council of the New Zealand Football Association meeting in Wellington at the week-end. 1

The confusion oft" Friday night was finally t settled on Saturday, morning, when the coun- J cil voted 12-5 in favour t of the 1970 start. ’ The council, meeting in pri- c vate, had before it clear-cut ! recommendations from the t regional and national leagues’ c committee, which had met the previous week-end and had thoroughly discussed the { matter. t The committee had reoom-» mended that as 10 of the 15 J clubs that had applied for en-1 try had stated a preference ■ for 1970 that the league start J next year. AMENDMENT PASSED ' It also put forward seven « definite starters Christ- “ church United, Western Sub- 2 urbs, Stop Out, Gisborne City, r Eastern Suburbs, Mount Wei- t lington and Blockhouse Bay— g and recommended that Hungaria and North Shore meet J; in a home-and-away play-off J for the eighth place. i However, when these re- « commendations were put as a c motion to the meeting of the council on Friday night, an , amendment was proposed, , and passed by nine votes to ti seven, that the league start in !! 1971. r In complete confueion, and with several councillors bit- 11 terly angry over the vote, the ti

mewttna adjourned for rtfreehmenta. After the adjournment, tho Mpettw wm dltfuaeed. furFr«‘"sS amendment had been carried, he had tailed to put the amendment aa .a motion to the meeting. Mr Cowie apologised tor the oversight, put the amendment as a motion, and it was defeated by it votes to seven—by the same men who bad earlier carried it. DKISIMS MTIPIBP towing morning when the meeting was resumed. The original motion was then put and carried. Under this resolution, it was agreed to start the national league' in 1970 and to accept the names ot the seven definite clubs and the play-os series recommended by the regional and national leagues’ committee. •- Datee of October IS and 2S were put forward for the playoff series between Hungaria and North Shore, but owing to the difficulties over getting grounds for these matches, it was left to the two clubs and their provincial associations to make the final arrangements. The regional and national leagues’ committee and the delegates of the participating national league clubs Wilf meet In Wellington on November 1 to draw up the final details of the competition. OVCRSCAt TOURIITS A press association report from Wellington on Saturday said that the council discussed the possibility of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Liverpool or , Glasgow Rangers touring New 1 Zealand next year. , AH four clubs are on a short < list of possibilities, and nego- ■ ttattonu with them will be car- '

' rled out by the tours director of the N.Z.F.A., Mr C. J. Demp- < ley, and Mr D. T. Mills, chairman of the Auckland F.A., .when they make a three-week trip i starting on November 7. They will work for a four- > match tour in May or the be- > ginning of June. Mr Dempeey was confident that they would successfully complete arrange. i menta with one of the four dubs. “We wouldn’t be going if we ' did not hold hopes of success," he added. The N.Z.F.A. also decided to have talks with the Hong Kong dub side, Jardines, who beat the New Zealand World Cup team, for the dub to make a three-week tour at the end of May.