The highly anticipated South Island football league will go ahead next year.
Football South confirmed the league yesterday, having agreed upon it in conjunction with Mainland Football.
The league will feature eight teams, three from the Southern Premier League and five from the Mainland League, which includes teams from Christchurch and Nelson.
One, or possibly two, full rounds of the local league will be played, with the top three teams at that point moving into the South Island league.
From there home and away games will be drawn at random, with each team set to play each other once.
The winner will be the team which ends on top of the table.
Meanwhile, the clubs that do not qualify for the league will continue playing each other in their local competitions.
It was something Football South chief executive Chris Wright was pleased with and he said the clubs were looking forward to the new concept.
''It's been a really useful process to work through with clubs.
''Both federations have made some amendments from the original proposal, but generally it's pretty close to what we proposed would happen a few months ago.
''So we're really happy to get it over the line. We're really looking forward to what the competition looks like next year.''
The competition will start on either June 30 or July 7 and the aim is to have it finish by September 1.
That could depend on Chatham Cup games however, with three weekends from the national cup competition falling within that period.
Initially the league will consist of just one round, although that could be extended in the future.
''The aim is to use this as almost a trial or a prototype for what could happen the following year,'' Wright said.
''So the aim is to get some of our teams playing some of the teams in the South Island and try to spell a process of bridging the gap between the premier league here and the level of the national league.
''So to get seven games in that realm is obviously a really good start.
''The ideal situation is that financially we can afford two full rounds, but that obviously depends on how the trial goes.''
Financial sustainability was key and Wright said the aim was to keep costs down as much as possible.
Football South had contributed to it and some funding had been secured, with other funding applications still being processed.
Costs would be equalised across the league, with a standard entry fee for all teams regardless of travel distances.
