New Northern NSW Football board target return of promotion-relegation

Football Mid North Coast stalwart Mike Parsons was voted onto the board and elected the new chair at an extraordinary general meeting where Lisa Evans, Lauren Edwards, Paul Sandilands and David Willoughby also became directors. Mark Trenter, the only director not targetted in the overthrow, was elected deputy chair.

Parsons replaced Helene O'Neill as chair after she was removed from the board 16 votes to one. The other directors, Bill Moncrieff, Mansell Laidler and Peter Dimovski, resigned before the meeting.

It was announced via a statement about 6.30pm on Friday that long-serving chief executive David Eland would leave his position immediately after he and the now former board had come to a mutual termination agreement. Eland served in the role for more than 13 years.

The Herald understands Eland was signed to a four-year contract extension shortly before the zones' move against the directors.

Also leaving NNSWF is chief financial officer Annette Hervas, football operations administrator Margaret Wand and finance assistant Kaitlin Radstaak.

The campaign to overthrow the board started on August 23, a day after zones received NNSWF-endorsed recommendations for change from an independent review report into the game's administration and governance in the region. Among the recommendations was facilitating a club-driven move to an aligned structure under NNSWF which streamlined administration and effectively dissolved the zone bodies which run community football.

Despite the upheaval on Friday night, Parsons said in a statement that it was "business as usual".

He was positive about the opportunities presented by a change in leadership at the member federation.

"We wish to thank the members of Northern NSW Football for their vote of confidence last night," he said.

"The new Northern NSW Football Board will come together shortly to commence planning for season 2023, future structure and direction of football within northern NSW.

"At this stage it is business as usual, we have excellent staff within Northern NSW Football and much of the planning for 2023 is complete."

The statement said the new board have indicated their intentions to prioritise grassroots football, achieve a dynamic NPL structure with NPLW, NPL and NL1, with promotion and relegation, from 2024 and reassess junior development pathways.

Promotion-relegation was abandoned several seasons ago because of the small number of clubs in the second-division which met NPL criteria.

In a press release on Friday night, Eland said: "I have been fortunate throughout my long tenure to have been supported by volunteer directors who selflessly dedicated their time and expertise to the game's best interests. The current board is no exception. I respect their determination to address the challenges constraining the game's continued growth and prosperity.

"It has been a privilege to lead football throughout northern NSW. I'm satisfied that I'm leaving the member federation in a sound position. The last couple of years have been very challenging, however, I could not be happier with how the governing body responded to the unprecedented challenges of the global pandemic."