The SIFF Executive Committee met on Sunday and general secretary Eddie Ngava says they have commissioned the secretariat to work on a timeline that will see the National Soccer League (NSL) start by October.
The timeline will include dates for the appointment of a specific board for the league, the registration of participating clubs, the release of the league’s regulations and the announcement of the kick off date.
“SIFF is definitely committed to starting the NSL this year,” Ngava says.
“We are moving forward now because we are ready. We now have additional facilities in the provinces that can cater for the NSL.”
The National Soccer League is expected to feature a maximum of eight clubs and the minimum amount would be six. SIFF hopes this will include clubs from both the capital, Honiara, and the provinces.
As the highest level of club competition, it is hoped the NSL will encourage provincial associations to establish and strengthen leagues to enable their clubs to participate.
The new league will replace the National Club Championship as the Solomon Islands’ entry competition to the prestigious O-League – an OFC competition featuring the best clubs from the region.
But this will not necessarily mean the end of the existing club championship.
Ngava says it will serve an important purpose as a development competition and insists SIFF plan to maintain it in its annual calendar of events.
Other OFC countries have already started their own national leagues, including New Zealand, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.
Story and photo courtesy of SIFF Media.
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