Levin's premier men's football side will have an anxious wait over summer to find out whether they will be included in the Central Football Federation league next season.
The trailblazing young side made history this year as the first team ever from Levin to compete in the Federation league andalthough they managed to win just one game and finished bottom of the table, their presence in the competition was important for the future of football in the district.
It would be a shame for the club and football in Levin if the momentum of their flagship team wasn't allowed to continue in 2021.
Central Football chief operations manager Donald Piper said he was well aware of the promise of the Levin team, but their hands were tied as New Zealand Football undergoes a restructure of all leagues, and there could be no firm decision made on Levin's future until they knew more.
"It's a difficult one, in the fact we're waiting for NZ football to communicate what the 2020 national football league will look like ... we might have to restructure the league," he said. "We're hoping to avoid that."
Piper said ideally he would have an answer by the end of the month, as that would allow teams to plan with certainty and give them time to apply for funding for expenses like travel.
But even if the Central Federation League went ahead as normal Levin's place was far from assured, given the finished bottom of the league.
The federation would have to weigh up the merits of other sides that might want to join — or drop out — before any competition was set in stone.
Levin AFC hope to retain a spot in Central Football's Federation League.
But Piper said the efforts of the Levin AFC side had not gone unnoticed by Central Football.
"We know they have a driven committee and a tight group of players that worked really hard this year, and we know for the growth of the sport and the future growth of the Horowhenua region it would be fantastic if they were to hold their position.
"But nothing's off the table at the moment. Unfortunately for Levin and every other team we're in a holding pattern at the moment. We're ready for every contingency."
Meanwhile, despite recording just one win all year the Levin team had shown a great deal of promise. They were by far the youngest in the league with an average age of 20.
The oldest player, Connor Vine, was 24 while the youngest player Tahana Perigo was just 16 at the start of the season.
Levin coach Peter Vine said he would love for the team to stay in the Federation league as they were a growing club working hard to build depth by supporting teams at all levels.
The premier team had been together for three seasons now and gained promotion by winning the Western Premiership last year.
"We want to continue to challenge them as you footballers. Football in Levin isn't going to grow unless we continue to challenge our best players and give our younger players something to aspire to," he said.
Levin had always produced top footballers, but the nature of the beast meant that talent was often picked off by neighbouring districts, or when work or study meant they relocated to neighbouring areas and played their football there, he said.
Having a Federation league side meant those players were more likely to continue their football with Levin AFC and the club would have the depth to sustain a quality side.
Vine said football in Levin was in good heart with record player numbers across all grades, from juniors, women and senior competitions.
There were six senior men's teams in 2020, compared to four the previous season, and there was almost enough women players to form two teams.
And despite just recording one win, he said his players never dropped their lip all year.
"That was the beauty of it. We never dropped our heads and we had the whole squad there for training every Tuesday and Thursday night, such was the commitment and enthusiasm to the team," he said.
"We were competitive in every game ... it's all about learning and progressing," he said.
The Levin AFC squad for this season was Bailey Butler-Easton, James Franklin, Troy Saussey, Connor Vine, Dylan Vine, Bayly Vine, Jesse Skinner, Keegan Chapman, Jordan Calder, Luke Spring, Neil Auckram, Blake De Burgh, Sam Larmer, Josh Morris, Tahana Perigo, Cody Stewart, Ivan McIntyre.
