Nearly 200 eager young soccer players gathered Armidale's Rologas Fields last week to compete at a school gala day.
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Soccer across northern NSW has defied the odds and bounced back to record player numbers in 2021 despite the disruption of the global pandemic.
To celebrate, Northern NSW Football hosted the gala day on Wednesday with five schools taking part.
Presbyterian Ladies' College Armidale, Armidale City Public School, Drummond Memorial Public School, New England Girls' School and Sandon Public School brought 26 teams between them made up of about 170 players.
The ability and passion for the sport shone through despite the wet weather with plenty of smiles and laughter on show during the day.
Northern NSW Football chief executive officer David Eland said player registrations were equal or above numbers for the same time in 2019, across five of its seven Member Zones.
"We were confident the increase in registrations would continue during the traditional peak registration period of the last week of February, first week of March," Eland said.
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Northern NSW Football has seen player registrations keep up with the same period in 2019.
As of 8 March, registrations across Northern NSW Football were up to 38,229, which is only a two per cent decrease on 2019 and three per cent increase on 2020.
In the Northern Inland region, registrations were up to 1,435, a 14 per cent increase on last season.
"We believe the trend is reflective of the community's confidence in the pandemic recovery, the desire to return to social interaction and the resilience and dedication of club volunteers who battled through the challenges of last season," Eland said.
"Clubs in 2020 who came together, worked within the restrictions of COVID-19 and got on the pitch in a modified season are being rewarded now, through the return of loyal players."
Parents and players are reminded there is still time to register for the sanctioned weekend football season, with most clubs across northern NSW accepting player registrations.
To find a club and register visit www.northernnswfootball.com.au.
Parents are reminded to claim the NSW Government Active Kids Voucher for $100 off their child's registration fee.
