The National Second Tier (NST) football competition, set to kick off around March/April in 2025, is currently facing uncertainty regarding its final structure.
Although eight teams from NSW and Victoria were previously announced, the remaining slots for the ‘national’ component remain unfilled.
Soccer Scene revealed that the decision on additional teams joining the NST is expected come mid this year, following the completion of the Request for Proposal (RFP), Assessment & Review, and Completion Phases.
Chairman of the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) Nick Galatas, who is a key figure in establishing the NST competition, continues to advocate for its development.
Despite the announcement of eight foundation clubs being confirmed, efforts are underway to expand this number to at least 12. 26 clubs were initially interested.
“There were 26 clubs that looked to be in a great position to be selected to start in the new NST,” Mr Galatas said in an interview with Soccerscene.
“From those, it would be expected to get 12 for a kick-off in 2024 but didn’t pan out that way.”
Mr Galatas further revealed what he hopes to see as more clubs show interest in joining the NST competition.
“Instead of the eight confirmed teams we see now, it should be 12 teams from hopefully at least four states or territories to achieve the best competition,” he said.
“I would have liked to have seen a 2024 start date with 12 teams and have all the big players ready to go, but instead we’ve had a delay. But so long as we use the additional time to start strongly, the extra year to wait is not important in the overall picture.
“Having Queensland plus at least one of South Australia, Tasmania and Canberra to include four states from the get-go is the ideal platform to build on.
“Then we can look at Western Australia and the remaining areas as we build – we are just starting. We can grow the competition without rushing into it too much from a logistical point of view.”
Source: Soccer Scene.
