ALBURY City FC have become the second sports team to defect to a Wagga competition for 2020 after their request to play in this year's Football Wagga first grade men's competition was approved.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After Albury-Wodonga Football Association pulled the pin on their season, the club contacted Football Wagga on Monday night to gauge interest in playing in the Pascoe Cup.
Football Wagga president Tony Dobbin said they gave the request the green light after favourable feedback from most clubs.
It follows the Osborne Tigers' decision to join Aussie Rules' Riverina League for this year after the coronavirus pandemic also forced the Hume League to be scrapped.
Albury City's inclusion has big immediate advantages. The Pascoe Cup will now be a ten-team competition which means byes will be avoided, while the regular season will increase from 11 games to 12.
After everyone plays each other the league will be divided into the top four, who will contest the 'cup', with the bottom six to compete in the plate.
"We've approved them coming into Pascoe for this year only," Dobbin said.
"We walked it around the clubs around the last 24 hours and there was acceptance it would be a good thing, because it takes the bye out of Pascoe.
"It's a strange year, we've had to look at various things. What it means is teams get more games and it introduces a different flavour."
All of Albury City's home games will be played in Wagga, eliminating the travel concerns raised by some clubs when asked their thoughts on their inclusion.
Their inclusion in Pascoe Cup is just for 2020, unlike the permanent return of Griffith club Hanwood last year who went on to win the premiership.
"When they approached us they said they're happy to travel everywhere," Dobbin said.
"The clubs have said it's a good idea. Albury City have said they want to go back to their competition next year, rather than bring in a whole club for all grades which would just cause a lot more difficulty.
"This was a perfect fit for a one-off opportunity."
Albury City FC finished fourth at the end of last year's Albury-Wodonga Football Association season.
Football Wagga's senior competitions will start next weekend, with the juniors to get underway this Saturday.
AWFA officials decided to cancel their season after concerns over volunteer burnout, with nine out of 12 clubs voting to pull the pin at a crisis meeting on Sunday night.
READ MORE
