James Murphy
SOCCER action returns to the region this weekend when the Limestone Coast Football Association launches its 2022 competition with a pre-season tournament on Sunday.
The format will differ to previous years and the bragging rights will be up for grabs in the form of a one-day carnival prior to the start of the premiership season after Easter.
A total of 30 games will be played across two venues, as International hosts the men’s carnival at Casadio Park and the women take to Blue Lake’s Malseed Park.
Matches will be played with 15-minute halves and a limit of 20 registered players for each team which is sure to provide spectators with some fast-paced clashes.
In the past the pre-season cup was contested over several minor rounds leading into a grand final.
However, under the new leadership of incoming CEO Chris Fleetwood, the LCFA has pushed for a more inclusive format which is sure to bring large crowds to both pitches.
“We wanted to bring everyone on the same page and have everyone together, so a carnival was a good way to go,” Fleetwood said.
“I come from Adelaide and I have seen it done before where we have everyone there and it is a great atmosphere.”
Fleetwood’s vision for the year ahead is to raise the association’s community involvement and “build some new life into the season”.
With that in mind all proceeds from Sunday’s tournaments will be donated towards the Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer Foundations.
All six clubs will be represented in both the men’s and women’s carnivals and Fleetwood expects a good display of competitiveness.
“With all the clubs together it is a really good start and will be a good showcase for our sport,” he said.
“We are expecting a pretty big crowd.
“We have some marquees and some catering and all sorts of stuff happening and all of the proceeds go to two really worthy causes.”
Attention will not only be on the players for the day, with some young referees set to make their debuts behind the whistle in what shapes up to be an exciting launch to the 2022 competition.
Looking at the home-and-away season and an Indigenous round will feature again, while Fleetwood said there will also be another round to raise funds for a chosen charity at some stage.
“We want to be seen as part of the community,” he said.
“We are looking at some local charities this time.”
Cash prizes will be given out for the player of the round across the season, while the association has also started collaboration with UniSA.
“We had our strategic plan meeting last weekend where we had 26 participants from all clubs and from outside of the clubs as well,” Fleetwood said.
“We ran that with UniSA, so we are trying to develop a partnership with UniSA down here.
“We are looking at ways we can collaborate with other agencies in the region.”
As the LCFA looks for options to build its presence in the Blue Lake city and beyond, it has explored options for keeping the sport going through the summer months.
Several avenues are already in the pipeline, including an indoor program and even a walking football league which is set to be introduced later in the year.
“We are looking at a 12-month football calendar where we will not only have a home-and-away season but we will have other programs as well,” Fleetwood said.
“There are a lot of things on the table and a lot of things we are working on.”
Another event Fleetwood is pushing for is an all-abilities tournament for later in the year.
The carnival will be dubbed the Regional Phoenix Cup with hopes to attract teams from across the Lower South East.
Also on the cards is a representative carnival against the Western Victoria Football Association.
An Under 16 carnival was recently held between the two associations and Fleetwood said there are plans in place for another meeting later in the season.
Sunday’s first matches will kick off at 8.30am, with the final games scheduled for 5.50pm.
