IN BIG LEAGUE

Damen Francis

February 13 2014

Shepparton News

Goulburn Valley Suns will go head-to-head with Victorian soccer’s most powerful clubs on a weekly basis, after it was placed in the top tier of the National Premier Leagues Victoria structure.

Football Federation Victoria released information about the newly established competition’s senior and junior structures yesterday, with signed licence agreements due next Wednesday.

While the 30 clubs and entities were split geographically at junior level, the senior men’s and under-20 men’s teams were broken into two divisions.

The Suns were placed alongside the likes of traditional giants South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights and established Victorian Premier League clubs Northcote City and Green Gully Cavaliers.

The only other regional team in the top division is Ballarat Red Devils.

It is a daunting prospect, but it also represents an incredible opportunity for Goulburn Valley players to consistently rub shoulders with, and test themselves against, the best players in the state.

It remains to be seen if there are any restrictions on how many visa-listed players are allowed in the team, but it could make the Goulburn North East Football Association an even more attractive place to play for overseas players.

The news is understood to have stunned members of the Suns board, who will have a press conference to discuss the licence agreement today.

The senior competitions are due to begin on March 14, with the junior competitions to follow on April 6.

Teams in NPL will play each other twice on a home and away basis with no finals series.