Valentine make surprise push for spot in national second-division with overseas investors

Valentine, who were last in the 2021 Northern NSW NPL but narrowly missed finals in 2022, were the sole representative from NNSW on Monday when Football Australia listed the 32 clubs to lodge an expression of interest to join next year's proposed 10-16 team league.

Edgeworth had been the only NNSW club to show genuine interest in the second-tier. They contributed $4000 in late 2021 to join the Association of Australian Football Clubs' Partner Clubs initiative to push for the competition's creation.

FA's criteria for the league, including clubs having all-year access to high-quality facilities, paid administrators and players on year-round wages, appeared a bridge too far for NNSW teams.

However, Valentine president Paul Gaden said his club submitted an EOI when Hughes, who played professionally in the UK and China, secured overseas investors to support the move. Gaden would not disclose the exact source of the money.

"As a club we've got a vision for providing a pathway to the highest level we possibly can, so it was a great opportunity," Gaden said.

"We've got some interested overseas investors who are willing to help us out, so we've been able to lean on them, and as a club we're definitely heading in a really strong direction under the great work of Adam Hughes' leadership, so we thought we'd get in and have a go."

Following evaluation of the EOIs, FA will hold a request for proposal phase from April to June. Only shortlisted clubs will be invited to submit detailed proposals.

Gaden said Valentine were confident they had the backing to compete for a place in the league with heavyweight metropolitan clubs carrying national league history.

"There's no guarantees in this whole process but being geographically a little bit separated from some of those clubs, it gives us the opportunity to be one of the go-to development clubs in the Hunter, and that's something we aim to be anyway," he said. "It would be great to provide that opportunity for players in our area. We've got great depth of talent and I'd like to think we could match it with the likes of them."

Valentine are set to move into their redeveloped home at Croudace Bay Complex in April but Gaden said the club were also looking at other opportunities to find a facility meeting the FA criteria.

"We're excited to get onto Croudace Bay, but we're going to explore other options as well, in relation to other fields we can hire and even perhaps with a view to developing something ourselves," he said. "The facilities are fantastic but we'd expect we would probably need more spectator opportunities there.

"It's something we'll have to work through but there's definitely some good opportunities out there that we're investigating."

Gaden, who became Valentine president in July last year, said of the EOI that: "It's only been recently that the actual opportunity to go ahead with it and really pursue it has become available to us.

"But it does align with the club's vision of providing that player pathway to the highest level possible and it seemed to make sense to give it a try.

"We've got a lot to do obviously but some of that is already underway. And there's a few more people to be involved with the discussion moving forward as well.

"There's a lot of work to do but there's no reason, with all things going well, we can't get in by the first year of competition.

"But that's all a case of what and see.

"As a committee, we're on board. Adam's definitely got a strong vision for our club in terms of where he wants to take it, so he's certainly been a driving force, with the committee's backing."

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