Format irks fans, officials

SOME football officials and supporters are not satisfied with the format announced by the Kumul Petroleum National Soccer League board.
Yesterday, The National spoke to a couple of people in Lae regarding the format and they said that they were not happy with it.
One football supporter, Michael Earley, told The National that the decision by the board was bad for soccer.
Earley said in the finals, teams should be playing their rivals from other conferences.
“Playing each other is not really good,” he said.
“It’s like stealing the game away from the people of Morobe and Momase, and the chance for the two teams (Toti City and Morobe United) to be in the final will be taken away.”
Morobe Wawens president Andrew Namuesh said a true champion could not be found with such format in place. “We need to have the finals criss-cross, I do not agree with what the board has come up with,” Namuesh said.
“Our two teams —Toti City and Morobe United — must not participate until such time the (NSL) board amends the format for the winners of the Southern-New Guinea Islands to play the winners of the Northern-Highlands conferences.”
Namuesh said if the finals were criss-crossed, the two top teams of the regions should prevail.
Eastern Stars deputy chairman Joseph Ealedona said while the NSL board had the authority to change the format, it was irrational to change it unless under exceptional circumstances.
He said NSL was a semi-professional competition and clubs had spent a lot of money, and “it is only fair and transparent that clubs are informed why the changes were made”.