Clubs must support NPLV

February 8 2014

Shepparton News

Goulburn Valley Suns will field teams in a national second-tier soccer competition.

It is time for the local soccer community to show its support.

Controversy has plagued the process from the beginning, with private and public bickering between Football Federation Victoria and established clubs eventually leading to a Supreme Court injunction and Football Federation Australia intervention.

Despite the setbacks, the FFV-administered National Premier Leagues competition will go ahead this year and the Goulburn Valley is one of five regional areas represented — Albury-Wodonga’s entity Border FC will join next year.

But not everyone in the Greater Shepparton soccer community has been fully behind the local bid, either.

To its credit, the local working committee has presented a largely unified front, but there has been hesitancy and even reluctance — some vocal, some behind closed doors.

It must end .

The NPLV is the most accessible and viable pathway for players to progress to the next level and the region simply had to be involved or it risked falling further into obscurity.

To those clubs concerned, the impact the presence of the new entity will have on their ability to compete at local level, I say this: see the bigger picture.

Had the Goulburn Valley missed out, any player with ambition and means would have been lost to Bendigo or Melbourne, anyway.

At least this way they retain some involvement with their local club, even if they are not available on a weekly basis.

It is worth noting the cost will preclude the involvement of several talented players.

In time, hopefully clubs will see the benefits of the NPLV and do what they can to encourage the participation of players in such cases.

Since the introduction of the TAC Cup in 1992 and the national draft — which first appeared in 1981 — Australian football has offered a clear elite player pathway unparalleled by any other sport.

If that is to change, soccer, too, must unite behind a single concept.

The proliferation of autonomous and self-interested academies and development programs does little to help its cause. FFA has thrown its weight behind the NPL concept.

It will offer players the opportunity to play in a higher standard of competition and on a bigger stage.

You don’t hear local football clubs complaining about players being unavailable due to their TAC Cup commitments with Murray Bushrangers, which offers similar benefits.

I would be saddened if one person at Tatura Soccer Club was prouder of winning the 2011 GNEFA senior premiership than seeing local product Vince Lia playing week in, week out in the A-League.

At the end of the day, GNEFA and SSA are non-professional leagues and players should be encouraged to join the NPLV if they are serious about taking their game to the next level.

Unlike the TAC Cup, the NPLV concept requires participating clubs to provide teams at multiple levels — including senior grade.

While some will argue that puts further strain on local clubs fielding teams in each division, it could provide for a more social atmosphere that some players crave, with the serious players getting their competitive fix in the NPLV.

More details of the structure will come to light in the coming weeks and while the final implementation has been rushed and the first season almost certain to be flawed, the NPLV is a long-term concept that merits persevering with.

However, it can only succeed in regional areas with the support of its feeder clubs.