The service agreement will see WaiBOP take over the administrative functions of Waikato FC. The Waikato based franchise had their NZFC franchise license renewed by New Zealand Football recently..
Mr Panakera said the success of the application for the renewal of Waikato FC’s franchise license was “the result of the Northern League Clubs, the Federation and WFC working together”.
“Having a NZFC franchise team based in the Waikato is imperative”, said Waikato Bay of Plenty Football Federation CEO Cam Mitchell “It ensures that there are pathways for our promising young players to aspire to”.
“It’s fantastic for us to be involved in this flagship team”.
Mr Mitchell said the service agreement was based on the Mainland Football and Canterbury United model. And he’s hoping for similar success to what the Christchurch based NZFC team has had.
“Two years ago Mainland Football entered into a service agreement with Canterbury United, United had just finished the season at the bottom of the NZFC table. The franchise has shown steady improvement over the past two seasons, and this year their Youth team won the NZFC Youth Competition, the Senior team finished 2nd and Aaron Clapham made the All Whites”, said Mr Mitchell.
Mr Panakera is equally excited by the possibilities of the partnership.
“The benefits are obvious, we’ll be able to work together and focus on the growth of football”, said Mr Panakera.
“This will unite the Federation (WaiBOP) and Waikato FC in a project we hope to develop, a truly original team for Waikato and Bay of Plenty players”.
Providing a pathway for talented players, the ability to centralize resources to aid in the economic challenge of running the franchise, and Waikato FC having access to the professional services WaiBOP offers, were other benefits of the partnership that Mr Panakera noted.
