ASSOCIATION

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 118, 22 May 1925, Page 11

ASSOCIATION

NEGOTIATIONS WITH-AUSTRALIA

ALTERATIONS TO BROWN SHIELD RULES.

Members of the Council' of the New Zealand Football Association met last evening. Mr. A. Varney presided, and there were also present : Messrs. J. J. Roberts. F. Campbell, F. Sanders, .W. G. Bryce, H. Graves, and B. L. Salmon.

The Finance Committee recommended that an offer be made to Australia to send a team to New Zealand during the present season. The report was adopted, and it was decided to open negotiations at once. It was also decided to communicate with the Commonwealth Association, asking that body for its terms for the English team to visit New Zealand for (a) two weeks, or (b) three weeks. The Finance Committee submitted the following recommendation, a subject ot a suggested new scale of subscriptions : "That the minimum subscription for each affiliated association be £5, and, in addition, each association shall pay the sum of 5s per team for teams under its control in excess of five, but not exceeding twenty-five. lij addition,; any association controlling teams, the number of which exceeds twenty-five, shall pay the sum of 10s for each team included in such excess until a maximum payment of £20 is reached. School teams shall not be. included when calculating the annual subscription." . The report was adopted, and the matter will bo submitted to a meeting of delegates on 28th. May. . A recommendation from the Finance Committee, also' adopted; was that all associations should be approached and asked to forego any share of profits that might remain from the Chinese tour. Important alterations to the rules covering Brown Shield matches were suggested by the Competitions Committeo, which submitted the following report : "This committee considers the present system of all associations being able >to challenge for the Brown Shield indiscriminately is ho longer in the best interest of the ganie. In order, therefore, to obviate, the difficulties that arise., it recommends that competitions for the Brown Shield .(or any other trophy) be between the four major associations, and, so far as the minor associations are concerned, a' new trophy be found, and an equitable scheme bo formulated for the competition. This committee further recommends that the competition for the major associations' trophy be run on the same lines as the Plunket Shield (cricket) whereby each association has two home and one away matches in the first year, and one home and two away matches in the second year. This means a regular

scries of interprovincial games for the trophy in each of the main centres. This committee further recommends that the districts oE the four major associations for this particular competition shall be the same as for the Plunket Shield, thus allowing' major associations the right to draw on players under the control of minor associations." The reprt was adopted. The date for the closing of entries for the Chatham Cup competitions was extended, to Ist June. So far the following entries have been received : Oamaru Rangers, Pukemiro, Rotowaro, Seacliff, and Hastings United. It was decided to issue an invitation to Mr. John Lewis, manager of the English team at present in Australia, to pay a visit to New Zealand in order to confer with members of the council on matters relating to the game. Mr. B. L. Salmon was appointed sole selector of New Zealand teams during the 1925 season.