Nelson Bays Football representative women's team set to kick it with Mainland
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PHILLIP ROLLO
Last updated 12:03, October 29 2015
PHILLIP ROLLO/FAIRFAX NZ
New Zealand under-20 defender Geena Gross, pictured in action for Nelson College for Girls, is the perfect example of a player that warrants playing in the Mainland Women's Premier League.
A combined Nelson and Marlborough team looks set to kick it in the Mainland Women's Premier League.
In what will be a huge boost for female football in the top of the south, Mainland Football has given the green light for a Nelson Bays Football representative team to join their premier league in 2016.
Mainland Football chief executive Julian Bowden said NBF would be a welcome addition to the current seven-team Christchurch competition and that all of the current clubs supported their introduction as a representative side.
"All of the women that play football want the best competition they can get. It may well be a side representing their region [as opposed to a club] but there's always ways to put the best teams in that competition and provide the best competition, so sometimes you need to change the way things have historically been done," he said.
"Nelson is a key part of our federation make-up and in the men's game they have shown they can create highly competitive sides. Looking forward we see this as a huge benefit to the girls that are already playing and to the women's game in the Nelson region as well."
Before the team is guaranteed a place in the league, Nelson Bays Football general manager Clive Beaumont said they need support from the local clubs in Nelson and Marlborough first, as they will effectively be "loaning" their players to the team for the winter season.
"For this to be a success it has to be a collaborative enterprise and we have given the clubs a couple of weeks to come back to us," Beaumont said.
Only then will they be able to source coaching staff and players, with a squad likely to feature the region's top 24 players.
Beaumont said inclusion in the Mainland Women's Premier League would be a "hugely positive step forward" for the women's game in the top of the south.
"If you have a team which people aspire to then it's almost guaranteed that you will get more kids involved to play the game and get better at the game because there is a pathway there."
