Mike Parsons to lead Football Mid North Coast board again in 2019

Speaking with the Port News, Parsons identified a handful of important items he wished to pursue in the process.

A lack of a facility capable of hosting an A-League fixture – pre-season or competitive – was high on the agenda.

“I think it’s disappointing there is not a venue around the zone that has adequate lighting to host an A-League trial match,” Parsons said.

The facility that could tick that box – earmarked for Thrumster – is still a number of years away.

“We know we’re at the mercy of sports grants for that because going for a $10 million grant is unlikely to happen,” Parsons conceded.

“Instead we have to take bite-sized pieces for our project so that means we have taken a revised approach.

“We will have to do it in stage one, two, three and so on.”

However, Parsons has no other specific vision for what he wishes to achieve in the next 12 months.

It will be about “continuing to do what we do.”

“It’s an opportunity to fulfill the aspirational items on the agenda that myself and Bruce Potter have been working on for a number of years,” Parsons said.

“As chairman, I believe I provide information to our community and we have been transparent with our stakeholders with all of our information sharing.”

The FMNC chairman was also proud of the work the organisation had done over the last 12 months.

Now it was about being consistent and “championing the game”.

“We have the Rainbow Warriors for young people with special needs and we have started Walking Football down at Taree; that’s what football is all about,” he said.

“It’s about inclusiveness.”

Parsons was intent on working with the relevant bodies to achieve better football infrastructure.

“That is for our stakeholders who are the players that play park football on a Saturday,” he said.

“I want to leave a legacy for my grandchildren where we have good stadiums for football in coming years.”

Parsons was “humbled” to be re-elected into the chairmanship by his peers.

“It’s a long way from a dictatorship where I get my way and I’m extremely humbled that people have confidence in what I’m doing,” he said.

With Parsons in charge, FMNC have established an ‘outstanding rapport’ with the Newcastle Jets.

This culminated in visits to the zone by Jets players, coaches and administrators.

“As a result of this collaboration and relationship we established the first regional Jets training hub for aspiring players who may be seeking a career path,’’ Parsons said.

Next year, FMNC hope the Jets will return to the region with the friendly fixture potentially to be moved from mid-week to a weekend, pending the A-League club’s commitments.