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But by early 1998, when the national league was stumbling along under a cloud of mounting debt and diminishing profile, sentiments had swung full circle and the general view was the summer league hadn’t worked. The 1997-98 summer league lost $130,000 alone. In 1999 the New Zealand Club Championship was introduced as a stopgap, as North and South Island leagues from which the two winners contested a final (Central beat Dunedin Tech 3-1). It ended up costing as much as a normal national league. In March 2000 the 10-team Ansett National Club Championship (NCC) kicked off, two years after the summer national league was mothballed. A bonus point was introduced for scoring more than three goals, which had teams winning and dropping places - or drawing and jumping spots. Just as controversial were new top-
four playoffs. In 2001 National League sponsor Qantas New Zealand went into receivership, prompting the postponement of three matches. It was then rebranded as the Southern Trust National League. Miramar Rangers finished the league eight points clear - but were denied their first league title after crashing 3-2 in the grand final. In 2003 East Auckland, an affiliation of University-Mt Wellington and northern premier clubs Fencibles United, Ellerslie and Eastern Suburbs to contest the league occurred. But before the 2003 league had even kicked off newspapers were reporting it was to be canned in 15 months time in favour of a return to summer football… Bruce Holloway is author of The National League Debates: A potted chronology of the twists, turns and conflicting ideas in New Zealand football since 1990 a 276-page manuscript which examines the challenges of finding a sustainable format for our flagship competition. Available from: www.nationalleaguedebates.weebly.com
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