The new club based format I give to last only a few years. Utterly dumb and will destroy football in the regions. Clubs merging already. NZ Football should change its name to Northern Football. So if you're in a regional centre and good, then you're going to have to move to Auckland to be noticed. Sadly the boffins in football management are blind & deaf and journos like Andrew Voerman are so naaive and ignorant. Its the death knell. I've already pulled my sponsorship and I know many others have. I'll become a Yellow Fever supporter now - thats all.
Bit harsh. But the new format is for sure going to make NZ Football even more Auckland centric, and that won't be a good thing for the South Island especially and other regions like Hawkes Bay. Younger promising players outside the 2 Wellington based academies, may just feel they have to move to the big smoke to get noticed.
I'd keep a little eye on whatever Slava Meyn has planned longer term in Christchurch, once Covid is hopefully gone from our lives.