Summer league may change the face of soccer in N.Z.

Press, 9 April 1981, Page 34

Summer league may change the face of soccer in N.Z.

By

DAVID LEGGAT

A soccer league over the summer months, with massive sponsorship, television coverage and imported players, is being lined up for the northern region later this year.

The league would comprise eight or 10 (earns, all with their own facilities. The total sponsorship could be in the region of an imposing $150,000, with prize money in excess of a third of that. The rest of the money would cover travelling expense and payment for players and coaches. The farthest south any team would travel is Gisborne. However, it is believed that the league will- not directly clash with the'Rothmans League, but clearly it could be the most revolutionary venture attempted in New Zealand soccer. There will be very little interest for clubs south of Gisborne, at least for the first year of the league. Clubs which can reasonably be expected to be involved include Manurewa, Mount Wellington, HanimexNorth Shore, Hamilton, Gisborne City, Blockhouse Bay, Papakura City, and possibly Whangarei City and Mount Roskill. The emphasis would very definitely be on personalities. The country’s top coaches and players are likely to be invited to participate, while overseas players for all teams are highly probable. There is the prospect of, for example, the best players from Christchurch and Dunedin being invited north

for the league, before returning to their clubs for the national competition. - Also, players who are with Australian clubs — and a New Zealand international side could be chosen from those across the Tasman — might be included.. Guest players from England and Australia for all the teams have been proposed. The prospects for the sport in New Zealand are staggering. It is believed that players will have no contractual ties to any one club. This might result in a messy situation, but there would be nothing to prevent a player appearing for three different clubs in successive matches. That might need to be tidied up but, in theory, one team could field a current New Zealand side for a match. Mid-week matches would be fitted in along with week-end games, but there would be no clash wli i summer sport. Matches will kick off in the early evening. Televised highlights each week a:.' being planned. Consideration has apparently been given to including one Christchurch team and one side from Wellington. What is likely, however, is that this will be held over, certainly for the first year. Then it could be discussed again. Without any doubt, such a competition would have real crowd-pulling power. Indeed,

the national league, which would begin virtually as soon as the summer league ended, would pall in comparison, but it would not die. Certainly changes are needed, but the basic format of a national competition will not disappear, and historically soccer is a winter sport, and that will always remain so. Memories do not need to be particularly long to remember a similar revolution which happened in the cricket world four years ago, but there is a difference. World Series Cricket effectively became a rival for established test cricket. The summer soccer league is clearly not intended to compete with the national league. Had that been planned, it would have been held in winter. A summer league along these, proposed, lines must be tremendously enticing to clubs. The travel is substantially reduced, and the monetary benefits are dramatically increased — a figure of $15,000 sponsorship for each team has apparently been offered. It is believed that such a league could be as much as 99 per cent sure of getting off the ground in just six months and plans should be announced by the end of next month.