The reformed Limestone Coast Football Association board has only been active for a few months, but has been busy making things happen and kick off is only a matter of weeks away.

The new year will launch in style with a massive day of soccer on the second Sunday of April where all senior men’s and women’s teams will converge on Casadio Park for a huge one-day carnival.

Players then enjoy a fortnight off before things get serious on Sunday, May 1 when the 2022 Steeline LCFA Premiership Cup season gets under way.

With the season extended from 10 to 15 rounds, 2022 will be one of the biggest years ever in the round-ball game.

To accommodate for the extra set of minor-round fixtures, the Steeline Cup has been condensed from over a month to a single day season launch.

LCFA president Chris Fleetwood said the one-day carnival had been implemented to celebrate the sport and free up more space for the main attraction to enjoy the spotlight.

Not only will next month’s season launch at Casadio Park be a grand way to kick off the year, but all proceeds from the day will also be donated towards breast and prostate cancer.

“Everybody will play each other, with the senior men and women playing five 20-minute games, so it will be a big day,” he said.

“We wanted to bring everybody together at one location to get a massive crowd and celebrate the start of the season.

“There will be a little trophy at the end, but it is all about getting everyone together and the juniors will do a little parade at the beginning.

“It is great to have more games, especially with the juniors because they need to play as much as possible.”

One of the biggest premiership seasons ever kicks off on the first weekend of May with Malseed Park, Webb Street and MGA Park all hosting fixtures.

Fans will have to wait three weeks before the grand final rematch occurs, while the ninth round will be one not to miss being the Indigenous Round where teams will be encouraged to conduct a Welcome to Country and wear special one-off kits.

Finals action sparks in September with Malseed Park enjoying hosting rights for the decider across two days on the third weekend of the month, while byes make way for the SAJSA State and Country Championships, plus the SIP carnival.

When Fleetwood first stepped into the job, he had high hopes of bringing Victorian based club Portland back into the fold for the first time post COVID-19.

However, the same six South Australian teams will fight for the Steeline Premiership Cup with Portland choosing to stay on the Victorian side of the border.

But Fleetwood is still looking at ways to strengthen cross-border relations.

“The western part of Football Victoria are now pretty active and want to keep Portland in the Victorian league, which I do not have a problem with, as long as they are playing,” he said.

“Port Fairy, Warrnambool and Hamilton will be playing in a new league which is developing the western part of Victoria.

“We are now looking at establishing a relationship with the western part of Victoria so our representative teams can play against theirs to give the kids lots of chances to showcase their skills as well.”

The new fixture is one of Fleetwood’s first major announcements in charge of the LCFA and he hopes many more are to come.

The premiership winning coach for Gambier Centrals jumped into the top job with the support of the clubs to take the sport in a new and thriving direction.

Fleetwood said it had not been a simple task, but he and the board had made strong progress.

“I was elected to make some changes and grow the game which is what I intend to do,” he said.

“It has taken a little while, but for the first time all of the clubs are talking to each other and we are really excited by what is happening.

“I have all of the clubs behind me, especially with some of things we are doing off the field like this Sunday where we will be developing our strategic plan.

“It does not matter if you are involved with the sport or not, we would love to have as many people as part of it as possible and it will only go for an hour.

“It is an exciting time for football with the Women’s World Cup coming next year and we hope to develop a 12-month calendar, producing other ways people can get involved in the sport.”

The LCFA Strategic Planning Workshop for will take place at University SA at 12pm, while Under 16 girls and boys representative sides will play some regional friendlies against SWVFA in Portland this Saturday.


2022 STEELINE LIMESTONE COAST FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION FIXTURE

Sunday, April 10: Senior Men’s and Women’s Carnival and season launch (Casadio Park).

Round 1 – Sunday, May 1: Blue Lake v Millicent; Apollo v International; Centrals v Naracoorte.

Round 2 – Sunday, May 8: International v Blue Lake; Naracoorte v Apollo; Millicent v Centrals.

Round 3 – Sunday, May 15: Blue Lake v Naracoorte; International v Millicent; Centrals v Apollo.

Round 4 – Sunday, May 22: Apollo v Blue Lake; Centrals v International; Millicent v Naracoorte.

Round 5 – Sunday, May 29: Blue Lake v Centrals; Naracoorte v International; Apollo v Millicent.

Round 6 – Sunday, June 6: Millicent v Blue Lake; International v Apollo; Centrals v Naracoorte.

Bye – Sunday, June 12: SAJSA State Championships (Adelaide).

Round 7 – Sunday, June 19: Blue Lake v International; Apollo v Naracoorte; Centrals v Millicent.

Round 8 – Sunday, June 26: Naracoorte v Blue Lake; Millicent v International; Apollo v Centrals.

Round 9 (Indigenous round) – Sunday, July 3: Blue Lake v Apollo; International v Centrals; Naracoorte v Millicent.

Round 10 – Sunday, July 10: Centrals v Blue Lake; International v Naracoorte; Millicent v Centrals.

Bye – Sunday, July 17: SIP

Round 11 – Sunday, July 24: Blue Lake v Millicent; Apollo v International; Naracoorte v Centrals.

Round 12 – Sunday, July 31: International v Blue Lake; Naracoorte v Apollo; Millicent v Centrals.

Round 13 – Sunday, August 7: Blue Lake v Naracoorte; International v Millicent; Centrals v Apollo.

Round 14 – Sunday, August 14: Apollo v Blue Lake; Centrals v International; Millicent v Naracoorte.

Round 15 – Sunday, August 21: Blue Lake v Centrals; Naracoorte v International; Apollo v Millicent.

Bye – Sunday, August 28: SAJSA Country Championships.

Qualifying and elimination finals: Sunday, September 4.

Preliminary finals: Sunday, September 11.

Grand Final: Sunday, September 18 at Malseed Park.