Premier Competitions Fixture Changes Made Ahead of Matildas' Historic Weekend
Northern NSW Football have made changes to its premier competitions fixtures ahead of a huge weekend for the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
It will be the biggest weekend in Australia’s football history with the Matildas to either play in the third v fourth play-off in Brisbane on Saturday evening or the World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday night.
So, to give our football community the best opportunity to watch or attend these matches, NNSWF’s football operations staff have been proactive in scheduling or rescheduling premier competitions matches this weekend.
NPL Women’s NNSW
Plans have been drawn up for the NPL Women’s NNSW and PYL Girls final round depending on the result of the Matildas’ World Cup semi-final against England in Sydney on Wednesday night.
IF AUSTRALIA BEAT ENGLAND AND QUALIFY FOR THE WORLD CUP FINAL
• All NPLW and PYLG matches will remain on Saturday 19 August. But all matches will be moved forward one hour to allow everyone involved to watch the third v fourth play-off.
IF AUSTRALIA LOSES TO ENGLAND AND QUALIFY FOR THE THIRD V FOURTH PLAY-OFF
• First grade and reserve grade NPLW matches will remain on Saturday 19 August with kick off brought forward to 1pm and 11am respectively.
• Under-13s (8am), 15s (9.40am) and 17s (11.20am) matches will be moved to Sunday 20 August. Except for Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Maitland FC under-13s and 15s which will be played on Friday 18 August. Under-17s remains TBC and will be communicated directly via clubs.
NPL Men’s NNSW
The NPL Men’s NNSW finals week one schedule has been locked in with earlier kick off times to give everyone involved the best chance to be able to watch World Cup matches.
NPL Men’s NNSW – Finals Week One
Elimination Final
Saturday 19 August
First grade - Maitland FC v Weston Workers FC 1pm
Reserve grade - Lambton Jaffas v Edgeworth FC 10am
Cooks Square Park
Qualifying Final
Sunday 20 August
First grade - Broadmeadow Magic v Charlestown Azzurri 1pm
Reserve grade - Newcastle Olympic v Maitland FC 10am
Magic Park
PYLB Knockout Cup and PYLB Knockout Plate
• The PYL Knockout Cup and Plate finals scheduled for this weekend have been pushed back until the next available weekend on Sunday 1 October. This is the week after the PYLB grand finals.
• All semi-final matches scheduled for Wednesday 16 August have been pushed back to Wednesday 23 August to avoid a clash with the World Cup semi-final between Australia and England.
• Should teams not overlap, finals matches may be able to be played at their originally scheduled venues. But as the cup and plate finals will be on the same day, matches may need to be rescheduled at a multi-pitch venue to allow players to move between grades. This will be communicated in due course.
• The fourth round PYLB Cup matches between North Coast Football and Belmont Swansea United scheduled at Coffs Harbour on Saturday will be played, with NNSWF working with clubs to find the best solution regarding kick off times.
JDL
A number of minor kick-off time changes will be made for this weekend to ensure all players are given as much time as possible to watch the third v fourth play-off on Saturday evening. Check Squadi for updated times.
JDL Regional Gala Day
We understand many parents will have booked accommodation for this weekend’s JDL Regional Gala Day at South West Rocks. As such, the gala day will remain as fixtured, with all matches scheduled to finish by 3.30pm.
If any team is unable to field their side for their final match of the day due to attending the FIFA Women’s World Cup final or related events, please inform NNSWF competition administration staff so opposing teams can be advised.
NNSWF General Manager Football Operations Liam Bentley said the decisions had been made with the best interests of the football community in mind.
“We are making these changes and communicating our plans as early as possible because it’s important to be transparent with the football community,” Bentley said.
“Simply put, this is the right thing to do. We need to do whatever we can, keeping in mind logistical parameters, to ensure that people can watch or attend the World Cup this weekend.
“We appreciate everyone’s understanding and look forward to what we hope will be an incredible weekend, the memories of which will live forever.”
NNSWF CEO Peter Haynes fully supported the decisions.
“This is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime weekend coming up this weekend with our national team playing in either a third v fourth play-off or a World Cup final here on home soil,” Haynes said.
“We have a responsibility to ensure as many people in our football community as possible get the chance to either watch these matches on television or attend them live.
“I know that some may be negatively affected by these changes but we thank everyone for their understanding and I strongly encourage everyone to get out or get together and support the Matildas on Wednesday night and this weekend.”
