Vitiaz pull out of NSL ’21 season

VITIAZ United have pulled out of the 2021 National Soccer League (NSL) competition, citing financial difficulties in maintaining the club for a second season. The 2020 runners-up said in a statement that they were not able to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the new season due to the costs in registering and operating a franchise. “It generally, costs on average more than K500,000 (from our experience) per season,” club president Matthew Strach said. “We have to house, feed, train, equip and provide allowances for the players and this is not including the K90,000 EOI and registration fees.“We struggled financially in our first season, but it was worth it. “We made an impact and went all the way to the grand final.“It is all about progressing football, bringing in young players into the competition and trying different tactics and techniques so we can develop the sport.” He said Vitiaz would return to the NSL in the future with the club preparing for its maiden season in the Port Moresby Soccer Association (PMSA) competition. “Some of our regular players from Lae will be flown across to support our first season in the premier division (of the PMSA) and look forward to the start of games next month,” Strach said.“We want to thank everyone who supported us during our maiden NSL season, we are taking a breather this time around, but we’ll come back.“Good luck to all the NSL participants for the upcoming season, may the best and fairest win.”