A new era of New Zealand football will begin tomorrow, the transition finally complete.
The long-awaited, fully fledged South Island-wide league is set to begin as one of three leagues in the new national structure.
The Dunedin City Royals, Green Island and Mosgiel will join seven teams from the Mainland region in contesting the Southern League.
Each will play a full two-round, 18-match season.
That is an expansion on last year’s National League, which consisted of eight teams that played each other once.
While last year teams qualified through the ODT Southern Premiership, from now the teams are set.
A promotion-relegation opportunity is available at the end of each season to break into the Southern League.
Otago University had initially been set to fill one of the three southern spots. However, it was unable to meet a coaching requirement to obtain a licence, forcing it to give up its spot to Mosgiel.
Of the three southern teams, the Royals stand the best chance of National League qualification.
They were edged by Selwyn for the second qualifying spot last year, but have made significant gains since then.
Only Finn Bielski Cook has gone from last year’s squad.
That leaves them with quality such as Jared Grove, Connor Neil and Kaleb de Groot-Green returning.
The Royals have also been the major benefactor of University’s licence snub.
Oban Hawkins, Tim O’Farrell, Ben O’Farrell, Tom Stewart, En Watanabe, Finn Rathbone and Ben Stanley have all moved across town to join the Royals from the student club.
New-to-town former youth internationals Sean Cooper and Hayden Aish also add quality, as do several other promising youngsters who have arrived.
While it will face stiff challenges from the likes of Cashmere Technical and Christchurch United, this is a team capable of competing with Mainland’s best.
Alongside quality, the Royals boast depth, which the southern teams perhaps lacked last year.
That will also be a major boost when it comes to countering the impacts Covid-19 will have on the team.
Green Island and Mosgiel have their sights set on mid-table finishes.
Both have been hit hard by Covid-19 in the preseason and have prepared for a tough opening.
There has been minimal change in both squads, although both have lost experience.
Green Island striker Matt Brazier has moved overseas, leaving a huge hole up front.
Brazier was key in the team’s 2020 Southern Premier League title-winning campaign and brought strength and physicality to the line-up.
It is not without attacking weapons, though.
Adam Hewson has emerged into a genuinely lethal threat with the ball at his feet, using his pace to glide through gaps and into space.
Cam Anderson offers a similarly potent threat up front, while Alex Cox brings quality to the midfield.
Green Island has the benefit of having experienced this level of football last year.
While it struggled early on, it improved to beat Coastal Spirit in its final game.
For Mosgiel, it will be a new experience, although it retains some of the squad that played in the old South Island league in 2019.
It has lost the guidance of veteran defender Liam Dungey but has retained the core of last year’s young squad.
That includes a potent duo of Cody Brook and Rhys Quarrell up front.
Further back, Rory Findlay and Javier Langley offer plenty of quality in the defensive line.
Cashmere Technical will enter as a favourite for the Southern League title with a team boasting former Southern United ace goal-scorer Garbhan Coughlan.
The Southern League defending champion beat Miramar Rangers in the delayed Chatham Cup final earlier this month.
Christchurch United also shapes as a likely contender.
Backed by Russian businessman Slava Meyn, the team has brought former Phoenix striker Paul Ifill in as its head coach.
Nomads United and Ferrymead Bays have both joined the league as it expands from eight teams to 10.
Nelson Suburbs, Selwyn United and Coastal Spirit all reprise their places to round out the league.
The Royals and Mosgiel face off tomorrow at Logan Park Turf, while Green Island kicks off its campaign tomorrow against Nelson Suburbs at Saxton Field.
