Namoi Soccer League clubs learn 2022 season start date

Namoi Soccer League’s 2022 season start date was locked in during a Zoom meeting on Monday night, which was attended by officials from Northern NSW Football and the competing clubs.

The coming campaign will kick off on Saturday, April 30, and will include six clubs.

Gunnedah FC and Inverell FC have both joined in 2022 and will compete alongside the defending champions and 2021 minor premiers Narrabri FC as well as Wee Waa United, Narrabri Eleven FC and Moree Services FC.

There will be two divisions in 2022 after a second grade competition was successfully introduced last year.

Second grade games will be either nine-a-side or regulation 11-a-side based on each of the teams’ numbers on match day.

This season will be the first that six teams have played in the competition since 2017 when the Namoi Soccer League was reformed after the Wee Waa, Narrabri and Moree clubs departed the Northern Inland Premier League.

It was then a five-team competition in 2018 and 2019 after Gunnedah United withdrew, and then Moree Services FC made the decision to enter one team instead of two in 2020, which meant that the league featured just four teams that year.

The competition expanded to first and second grade in 2021 and the four clubs all entered a team in each grade.

This year will be the strongest yet for the Namoi Soccer League as 12 teams will play across the two divisions.

Wee Waa is currently enjoying one of its best pre-seasons in recent years, with an abundance of players training twice a week in the build-up to the season and the team scoring a comfortable trial match victory against Moree Services FC on Saturday, March 12.

Narrabri Eleven FC has also hit the ground running ahead of the 2022 season with a tough pre-season and is currently being driven by a young committee after it held its annual general meeting in January.

Last season’s undefeated minor premiers, Narrabri FC, has been training twice a week since the start of February and will play its first trial matches this Saturday when it welcomes Gunnedah FC in both grades at Gately Field.

Narrabri FC will then host Wee Waa United at Hogan Oval the following Sunday in reserve grade and will travel to Gunnedah to challenge Gunnedah FC in first grade the following day, ahead of its second appearance at Northern Inland pre-season tournament – the Johnson Cup – on Saturday, April 9.