After it was reported last week that a handful of disaffiliated clubs would return to the Northern NSW Football fold, the organisation released a statement today in which it said it was "delighted" by the news.
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It also detailed what changes would take place now that the clubs, primarily based in Armidale, are set to return.
News of the teams reuniting with NNSWF-Northern Inland was warmly welcomed by regional coordinator, Mitch O'Keefe.
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"I'm really looking forward to spending much more time in Armidale," O'Keefe said.
"It's really exciting to reunite the region again. It's brilliant to bring some really strong, traditional clubs in Armidale back to the fold. I'm really excited to get things like coach, referee and volunteer courses back to participants in our region."
The changes announced by NNSWF-Northern Inland include:
- A male and female Northern Inland Premier League open to senior clubs in the Northern Inland region
- An additional NNSWF-Northern Inland resource to ensure there will be people on the ground in Tamworth and Armidale every weekend
- The return of support and education for coaches, match officials and volunteers in Armidale
- Players eligible to be part of the Talented Player Pathway including TSP and NYC
- Clubs eligible to enter Australia Cup
- Clubs can apply for NSW Football Legacy Participation and Facility Grants
- Vast majority of junior competitions across Northern Inland unaffected with a base calendar of competitions
The clubs returning to the competition are Armidale City Westside FC, Demon Knights FC, East Armidale FC, Guyra United FC, Norths United FC, South Armidale United FC, The Armidale School (TAS) and Uralla United FC.
They disaffiliated in early 2020 after losing faith in Northern Inland Football (which was dissolved in 2021), and NNSWF general manager Liam Bentley promised a relationship based on clarity moving forward.
"We will be totally open," Bentley said.
"We have very clear disciplinary systems in the region now which have already been shown to work. There's a real strength in the process of the disciplinary, transparency and how the competitions are run. It's not like it was previously in the region.
"We are running football in Northern Inland how we run our NPL competitions. There are principles that we use to govern competitions and we apply them across the board."
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