Northern Rangers FC Vice-President, Marshall Pooley, contacted FFT this morning to confirm the clubs decision to withdraw from the expanded NPL Tasmania competition in 2019. This came after a number of weeks of ongoing communication with the club.
FFT CEO Matt Bulkeley said ‘we’re obviously disappointed that Northern Rangers will not be part of the competition next year as they’ve been part of the NPL since its inception. That said, we understand and respect the clubs position.’
‘We remain committed to working with and supporting the club and hope that they return to the NPL in the future. I’d like to thank the club, especially Marshall, for their open approach over recent weeks in particular.’
Newly promoted clubs, Riverside Olympic and Glenorchy Knights both expressed their excitement about being a part of the expanded NPL Tasmania, which will take the competition from 8 teams to 9 teams. Riverside President, Stuart McCarron, said 'while we are disappointed with Northern Rangers not participating we are looking forward to testing our club at the highest level of football in Tasmania. While we believe that there will be challenges, we are up for them.' Tony Bacic, President of Glenorchy Knights, added, 'we are looking forward to competing in the NPL in 2019, and though this news is disappointing, we will continue to prepare for an exciting year and grow our club.'
The FFT Board and Management feel strongly that a 3 round competition is the best approach for the top level of male football in Tasmania and will help to continue to challenge and develop our players. It is also a great way to continue to promote the growth of football throughout the state.
Bulkeley confirmed that ‘FFT will be proceeding with a 9 club NPL competition in 2019.’ We’ll be continuing with the planning process with our other NPL clubs in the coming weeks which will involve finalising the roster, completing license agreements and supporting them with the associated criteria.’
Further information about the 2019 season, including the roster, will be released in the coming weeks.