Time to decide to bid or not

By Teo Pellizzeri

May 27 2008

Shepparton News

The Goulburn NorthEast soccer community has 38 days to decide if it will bid for a Victorian summer soccer league franchise after a deadline for submissions of interest was set yesterday.

Football Federation Victoria plans to start the 12-team, zonebased competition later this year with eight teams from metropolitan Melbourne and four from rural Victoria.

Submissions of interest in applying for a five-year licence must be submitted to the state federation by July 4, leaving five weeks for individuals, consortiums and clubs to organise bids.

Goulburn North-East zone encompasses districts such as Wangaratta, Benalla, Wodonga and favourite to host the team should there be a successful licence bid, Shepparton.

One licence will be issued a zone, but multiple bids from zones will be received and assessed by the state federation.

Licence winners will be entitled to field an elite women's team, at least three boys' divisions (under-13s, under-14s and under15s) and at least three girls' teams (under-13s, under-15s and under17s) in the summer league.

The state federation has reserved the right to increase the number of junior teams depending on interest levels in other age-groups.

Despite the federation indicating a licence fee to participate in the zone competition would cost $100 000 a year for five years, documentation outlining the summer league was unclear yesterday.

Members of the soccer community in the Goulburn North-East have understood the licence fee to apply regardless of if the zone club fields a men's open team or not.

However, the explanatory documentation currently being circulated to prospective bidders has not clarified if a zone with no intention of fielding a men's team must pay the licence fee, or simply manage the operating costs of its women and junior teams.