By ADEM SARICAOGLU
MELBOURNE Knights and Green Gully are both expected to confirm their place in the National Premier League this week.
Last week Football Federation Victoria confirmed both the Knights and Cavaliers will remain in the top flight of Victorian soccer as part of the 14-team NPL competition, while Sunshine George Cross and St Albans will take part in NPL1, which consists of 16 teams.
Green Gully football manager Raymond Mamo told Star last week his club will go ahead in the NPL, while the Melbourne Knights confirmed their successful application in a statement on their club website.
“I never thought there was any doubt about the Knights being accepted in the NPL,” club president Andelko Cimera said in the statement.
“We pretty much met the criteria without needing to make any major changes. We already have an A-class facility, we regularly promote our young players, and we have a technical director who has already been working with our juniors for over a year.”
Both the NPL and NPL1 are due to kick off in mid-March, with all clubs scheduled to play each other twice with no finals series taking place at the end of the year.
Instead, the club who finishes first on the table after 26 home and away fixtures will be declared the state champion, and will play Tasmania’s NPL winner in the first round of the national finals.
The promotion and relegation procedure between the NPL and NPL1 has not yet been confirmed, but is expected to be announced next week along with the final senior and under-20 fixtures.
The FFV also confirmed the NPL’s junior season will begin in early April, with each of the 30 clubs divided geographically into two conferences.
The Knights, Cavaliers, Georgies and Saints will all take part in the same conference.
