Soccer: National service

In April last year, Porirua-based Ole Madrids filed a High Court lawsuit in Auckland seeking $300,000 in damages from New Zealand Soccer (NZS) after being omitted from a new national soccer league. Although they withdrew this threat two months later, "for the good of the game", it went some way to revealing how important it was to be a part of the latest incarnation of a national league.

After 10 attempts to get it right in little over 30 years, New Zealand Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan had spelled out the gravity of the situation and said there would be no more chances with the national league after this.

Although what was being proposed was viewed with suspicion by many who saw it as a potentially deadly blow to club soccer, the message got through that something needed to be done to bring credibility back to the game in this country.

As the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC) comes to a climax before next month's finals, there's widespread acknowledgement the national league has been a success: the number of teams is regarded as right by all those talked to by the Herald on Sunday; crowd numbers are up; facilities are first-rate; the administration is operating effectively; the media is more interested; and summer football has been embraced by both players and spectators.

The place of club soccer still lurks in the background, however, with many once-proud clubs still trumpeting the importance of the winter league in an increasingly laden football calendar. It's something football administrators at the top level have battled with for years but, in time, it's hoped the national league is held in high enough regard that players opt out of competing in the winter league altogether.

While this would weaken the traditional winter competition, including the Chatham Cup, it's unlikely to happen until clubs keep their chequebooks in their back pockets and stop trying to entice players. "I hear of huge amounts of money being offered to players by winter league clubs, but to do what?" MacGowan asks. "I can't get my head around that."

MacGowan, though, has been able to get his head around what has worked this season. "I would give it a seven out of 10," says MacGowan, whose five-year tenure as CEO will end in March. "Outside the white lines, it's pretty good. Inside we're probably not there, but it's still early days. If in three years we're saying the quality of players isn't there, then I think we have a serious issue."

It's a view shared by leading administrators, coaches and players. Waitakere United chairman and NZS board member Rex Dawkins says it's the best national competition he's been involved with since the introduction of the last summer league in 1995 when All Whites were still playing in the domestic competition.

"I had my doubts about changing from a club format because we have had some very successful national leagues in the past but I warmed to the franchise system. Over the last few years the costs involved in competing meant clubs were falling by the wayside."

As many as 50 per cent of clubs would disappear after making a serious attempt to break into the national league only to succumb to crippling debts. Giving each of the eight franchises a three-year guarantee they will remain in the league has brought stability to the game.

There has been criticism, though, that a lack of a promotion-relegation system has created something of a "glass ceiling" for other entities wanting to join the competition. Not only did Ole Madrids miss out, but East Auckland and Team Bay of Plenty were also excluded, and rumblings are being made on the North Shore about joining the NZFC.

Auckland City and Central United assistant coach Craig Alexander laments the lack of a promotion-relegation system. "I'm a believer in club-based football and I think it's almost put winter football into a context of being social," he says. "Clubs can't aspire to anything more than winning the northern or central league."

MacGowan makes no bones about a settled system, pointing out it's no different to other sports like rugby's Super 12, netball and rugby league. The number of teams will be reviewed, with suggestions a North Shore side and even an under-20 side could be added, but this is met with caution by many who agree there isn't enough depth in New Zealand football to justify two more teams.

A return to a summer league has certainly proved popular with players and public, reflected in the fact each game attracts an average of about 900 spectators.

While there's consensus that details still need to be ironed out, there's a widespread optimism in the game. Perhaps the roller-coaster New Zealand soccer has been on for more than 20 years is slowly coming to a halt.

- Herald on Sunday