The emergence of AFC in a way may help the Nix perception in the Welly football scene. For they are going to have a lot less kids from the upper NI come down to the Weenix Academy. More of those kids will naturally look closer to home to Albany or wherever AFC setp their Academy.
And with Foley's cash I imagine it will quickly be a very well resourced joint. A guy at Auckland City I know, reckons you can expect Auckland FC's Academy to develop at about double the speed of Weenix. So of course some of NZ's best promising players, that would have previously gone to Welly, won't be. Sail, Old, Paulsen, Singh, GSR just a couple of Nix Aucklanders I can think of.
So yeah the Nix are going to have to look a bit more local, and as per the posts above, the South Island. But more Waines, and Cacaces in the team - kids who have come from local Welly clubs - might mean more local football folk get engaged.
The other factor is the decline it seems of the Ole Academy. I mean previously you had talents like Garbett, Stamenic (Welly lads), Just (Palmy North), Pijnaker (Rotorua) who got indoctrinated by Declan to bypass the local pro club completely. Only McCowatt tried the Nix. Now it seems there is steady trickle of kids moving from Ole to Weenix. Fergus Gillion is one and there are a number of others. So that at least should mean more Western Suburbs folk show an interest in the Nix.
And with Foley's cash I imagine it will quickly be a very well resourced joint. A guy at Auckland City I know, reckons you can expect Auckland FC's Academy to develop at about double the speed of Weenix. So of course some of NZ's best promising players, that would have previously gone to Welly, won't be. Sail, Old, Paulsen, Singh, GSR just a couple of Nix Aucklanders I can think of.
So yeah the Nix are going to have to look a bit more local, and as per the posts above, the South Island. But more Waines, and Cacaces in the team - kids who have come from local Welly clubs - might mean more local football folk get engaged.
The other factor is the decline it seems of the Ole Academy. I mean previously you had talents like Garbett, Stamenic (Welly lads), Just (Palmy North), Pijnaker (Rotorua) who got indoctrinated by Declan to bypass the local pro club completely. Only McCowatt tried the Nix. Now it seems there is steady trickle of kids moving from Ole to Weenix. Fergus Gillion is one and there are a number of others. So that at least should mean more Western Suburbs folk show an interest in the Nix.
Doubt the Auckland club acquires an academy based in Wellington with Wellington based coaches and players. Not exactly much value in taking that north. Very few of the existing players are likely to have their parents up sticks and move to a different city, especially since Ole isnt quite what it was when Declan was active.
AFC will either establish their own or buy into an existing setup, although I don't know myself what really exists up there at the moment.