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Nigel.Ward posted on March 14, 2008 15:21
The NZ Herald's Terry Maddaford came out last week with a piece saying the code is facing another legal wrangle, reporting that three United Soccer 1 clubs were taking their Federation to court over their non-sanction of their entry into the new league.
Of course, the possibilities of trying to fit three extra teams into the current league might have had some consequences for Waiuku, but, as the Waiuku Post's Nigel Ward reported this week, club president Dale Oliver says the league is set in stone, and Waiuku will be safe no matter what. This comment seemed to be backed up by a statement from the Federation to the Post on Monday that said, in part: there are no circumstances in our contemplation that would see pukekohe or waiuku losing the place they have been offered in the new nrfl competition.
Obviously good news, however Peter Thorley of the Northern Advocate was writing on Tuesday that the US1 competition would be just about as strong as the old Northern Premier League, and that US1 has teams lined up to replace the three clubs, should they leave. This begs the question as to just what those teams expect if they win the right to be released - with a 12-team and an 11-team competition already in place, there doesn't appear to be much room for another three teams.
Meanwhile, down south, Matt Richens of the Waikato Times, one of the more interesting soccer writers going around, is reporting Waikato Football's CEo John Turkington as being optomistic about the strength of the league Waiuku will be competing in this year.
The last couple of lines of his article raises a few issues though, with the suggestion that the Waikato Times understands Oceania Football has threatened to step in to the row over the US1 clubs.
I can't see on what grounds, other than a breach of FIFA regulations, because ordinarily, I would expect Oceania to stay well clear of local league issues.
Watch this space, I guess, but meanwhile, Waiuku's just getting on with the job in hand, with some excellent support from our sponsors yet again, and a 4-1 win over Papakura to back up the 6-1 over Pukekohe a few days previously.
It wouldn't be soccer without some debate going on, but so far, so good for the Blues.