Eastern Suburbs AFC National Youth League player eligibility criteria Eastern Suburbs AFC has just announced their National Youth League (NYL) player eligibility criteria. Suburbs National Youth League eligibility is based on a ‘local’ or Eastern Suburbs centric model. For a player to be considered for the Eastern Suburbs youth squad they must meet at least one of the following ‘local’ criteria: • Play for Eastern Suburbs AFC (during the winter league) • Play for one of the local schools, including: Glendowie College, Selwyn College, Sacred Heart College, Tamaki College and Parnell College • Play for a school outside the area that is considered a “local” school because of the large number of students from the ESAFC club that attend that school: Auckland Grammar, Kings & St. Kent's • Reside in the Suburbs catchment area, but go to a university out of Auckland • Play for one of Eastern Suburbs neighbouring clubs (Fencibles, Ellerslie and Uni-Mt) Chris Ruffell (Suburbs chairman) explained his club’s rationale for their eligibility criteria: “Suburbs NYL player eligibility criteria breaks from the established norm: where players are selected regardless of who they play for or what catchment zone they live in. One of our key reasons for gaining entry to the prestigious National & National Youth Leagues was to help develop & grow football at our club and in the broader eastern catchment area. We recongised the NL & NYL were a critical link in strengthening Suburbs player pathway strategy, we also wanted to include our local schools and our immediate neighbouring football clubs in this opportunity by providing access to the pinnacle of club football in New Zealand”. Chris went onto comment: “While the Eastern Suburbs catchment centric player eligibility model will undoubtedly rule out a number of talented players, but crucially it will: 1.
Reinforce the importance of, and our commitment to Suburbs & Eastern area player path way strategy
2.
Help build valuable relationships with our local schools and neighbouring football clubs: helping the development of football in our area
3.
Encourage local support for our National League teams”.
