The proposed league is seen as a crucial link to help bridge the gap between club football and the national league, and it could start as early as next season.
The proposal, which is still in its infancy, could have three teams from Football South join four teams from Mainland Football and one from Nelson in an eight-team league.
The tournament could kick off next season as an extension of the South Island Championship with just one round of games. If it goes well, the tournament could be expanded to two full rounds in 2019.
The games would be played during the current club window.
The idea has been in the pipeline for a few years. But with both Football South chief executive Chris Wright and Mainland Football chief executive Julian Bowden pushing the concept, the league could become a reality rather than an item on an unfulfilled wish list.
However, Wright was keen to emphasise there was a lot of work ahead.
The topic has come up before but Wright will meet the clubs next week to further gauge the mood for change.
‘‘We’ve decided to take some leadership about it and talk to our clubs,’’ Wright said.
‘‘[Mainland Football] talked to their clubs last week and we will be talking to them next we so we can get a verbal indication if there is an appetite for it.
‘‘And in the background we are doing some work on it and seeing how viable it is: what is the cost of it, can we build it into the competitions that we currently run, and do we have the referees and the grounds and that type of stuff.’’
Wright said the size of the gap between club football and the national league had become ‘‘more apparent’’ since Football South took over Southern United’s playing licence last year and it was time to act.
‘‘The feedback we are getting from the players and coaches is that the level of the national league is going up and we need to make sure that our own local competitions follow it.’’
However, Wright said the competition would need to be sustainable over the long term and there was still work to do establishing whether it would be financially viable.
‘‘It is really key to say that we wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t sustainable,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve talked to a few [potential sponsors] and there is certainly interest. It is now just about mapping out exactly what it could look like and what the commercial value in return could be.’’
Wright declined to comment how much each team would cost to run but he said the costs would be equalised across the league to make it more affordable for the clubs that would have higher travel expenses.
Bowden said both organisations owed it to their players to provide better pathways and the proposed league would help do that.
‘‘We believe this is one way to reduce the gap,’’ he said.
‘‘The clubs have been very positive towards the concept and we are really keen to meet with our southern counterparts to work collaboratively on finding the solution to help grow the game and the quality of the leagues.
‘‘I don’t think anyone thinks it is going to be easy. But what we are hearing is people have an appetite to explore it.’’
Both organisations are also keen to provide a similar opportunity for the region’s leading women’s teams.
