How will football in New Zealand shape-up post COVID-19?
With the novel Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe, everything has changed. There is a ‘new normal’ for everyone – our question is, how can football come out of this in a better place than it started?
In New Zealand, we have the perfect chance for us to take stock, review our situation and reinvent our grassroots football set-up so that we can build on the performances that we were starting to put together and the players that we are starting to produce.
Two steps forward, one step back
New Zealand football did announce that they would be using this time to review football in this country. However, part of that process was the early release of Des Buckingham and his experienced coaching staff from the Under 23’s/Oly-Whites. Strides forward have been made in the quality of coaches/players in our national and winter leagues, but it seems New Zealand (NZ) Football undermines itself by removing key personnel at the wrong time.
The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by sports organisations has been confusing at times, to say the least. There have been confusing guidelines issued from different clubs, sports, national bodies, and the Government, without a clear unified message. Different federations and councils are combining to create a myriad of rules and regulations, and the season has been slated to start in early June for grassroots players. In a bid to ensure money continues to pour in, injuries are also certain to flow as players are thrust back into a competitive environment after not being allowed to train or play for 10 weeks.
How do we turn this situation into one that benefits football in NZ?
We need a national winter competition for men’s and women’s football, with teams from each federation represented. Get rid of the reserve leagues that you see higher up in the AFF competitions and just have those teams play. Create a tier one and tier two nationwide league with the bottom two finishers in the tier one league relegated to tier two and then the bottom two in tier two replaced by the best team in their federation.
We need the game to become professional at national level, with the best winter and summer clubs turning professional. There should also be more amateur league options for those that want to play social or Sunday league football. There also needs to be a continued focus on futsal, with a more structured competition put into place in summer and options for players to play/train in winter.
Finally, we should ensure that there is increased coverage and interest for any new leagues as well as improved coverage for the current ones. There is no reason why football should not be the most popular game in the country, if everyone tries to make changes for the good of the game, rather than to suit themselves. There is no place for politics, only the development of better competitions, players and environments to enjoy the game.
