Field of dreams turns into boggy disenchantment

Mitchell Bradley's game-time has been limited because of rain. Photo / Natalie Slade

Thousands of young Aucklanders have had their dreams of scoring a goal on the football field shattered by a run of game cancellations because of soggy sports fields.

Auckland mother Judy Bradley is exasperated by her 13-year-old son missing five Saturday club soccer games.

"The cancellations are very frustrating for kids and parents," said Mrs Bradley, who lives in Lynndale.

"You do your best to get kids involved to keep them active, busy and motivated and they lose motivation with all this time off.

"Playing soccer is becoming a bit of a joke when they end up doing nothing."

Her son Mitchell, who plays for the Bay Olympic Club, has barely been able to train either because of Auckland Council Park's playing restrictions on sodden grass sports fields.

"He loves his soccer and made an Auckland rep squad last year.

"But instead, on Saturday, he mucked around the house ... did some vacuum cleaning."

His other brother, Aidan, aged 17, was lucky enough to play the previous Saturday for his Three Kings United club.

"But that was one game in five weeks. Why is the council unable to prepare and maintain grounds for this major winter sport?"

Kumeu resident Lawrence Chiari said his 14-year-old son Stefane had his Waitakere City Club games cancelled four times.

However, he had been able to play for his school because its grounds were not part of the council sports field network.

Auckland Council member Alf Filipaina said the council was moving swiftly on a policy that would give more artificial all-weather pitches or improve drainage for soil-based ones.

Auckland Football Federation chief executive David Parker said that as a "rolling ball" sport, football was probably more affected by mud patches on fields than rugby or league.

"In 2008, their football was cancelled for seven consecutive weeks and we were told it was a one-in-50-years event. But last year we had another one. And now this year it looks like another one."

Council local and sports parks manager Mark Bowater said four to six weeks of exceptional rainfall had left many soil-based turf fields holding too much moisture for there to be unrestricted weekend and training games.

However, it was left to clubs to decide how that time would be shared among their junior and senior levels.

The council would spend more than $25 million on maintaining 800 sports fields this year.