Zonal second division recommended

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34127, 13 April 1976, Page 22

Zonal second division recommended

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON. A second division of the Rothmans National Soccer League, with eight-team northern and southern zones., will be recommended to the New Zealand Football Association council for ratification.

Under the plan formulated by the N.Z.F.A. second division sub-committee yester-| day, the northern group would comprise the top six Northern League teams and two from the Central League, excluding Wellington and Nelson. The South island section would comprise the top five Wellington teams, including Nelson United if it were considered good enough, and! the top three teams from the Southern League. The plan also proposes automatic promotion-relegation to the 10-team first division. Other propositions were dismissed: one 10-team second division covering the whole country; a split midway through the season to decide who would form a di-

vision two from that point; a variation on that idea to take the two top teams from each regional league to take part in a play-off system; and to preserve the status quo. The proposed northern and southern zones was spearheaded by Mr lan Paton (PMpakura), of the Northern League. It was agreed that Wellington should be included in the southern zone to strengthen a situation which the Canterbury delegate, Mr M. W. MacKehzie, described as unwanted. “Only three sides in the Southern League hate anv real present ambition to go national” he said. “South Island clubs are not happv about a national second division, and only Rangers sav they want to go into the competition.”

Only 24 of New Zealand’s more than 200 first and second division regional league clubs bothered to reply last year to the sub-committee’s questionaire asking if thev wanted a second division O’f these, 19 said yes. The sub-committee chairman, and former New Zealand captain, Mr Grahame ißilby, said yesterday that

I the new division would look after itself, “although I don’t want to see the southern clubs walking out on us.” “The only way to make the southern section strong enough is to bring into it Wellington clubs. We are going to get squeals from them but it’s all part of the growing pains,” Mr Bilbv added. “There is little financial disadvantage in flving to Invercargill than to Wellington. “By starting with eight teams in each group, it is a natural progression to in crease to 10 in a couple of years time. "One of the big advantages is that by this system we will get rid of the old satisfactory end-of-season play-off series.” Rangers, who have twice played in the play-off senes without success, have very mixed feelings about the sub-committee’s proposal. “We have told the N.Z.F.A. that the. club is not in favour of a second division, but if it js the Ohly means we can progress to the first division, then we would enter it if chosen to do so,” the Rangers president, Mr M J. Shardlow, said last evening.