Sixty-year-old Mr Fletcher was appointed to the top job following the Mike Parsons' resignation at FMNC's annual general meeting. Mr Parsons had been chairman for seven years. He remains on the board as vice-chairman.

"I know that Mike has done a lot of work in his time on the board and it's good that he's staying involved,'' Mr Fletcher said.

Mr Fletcher is concerned that too many kids in younger divisions are not playing sport.

"I know some parents have been worried about their children playing sport during the pandemic - and rightly so,'' he said.

"But I want to see kids out there enjoying sport and not playing PlayStations.''

He added that making the game more affordable was paramount.

"We have to look outside the square,'' he said.

Combing game day and training is one possibility for younger grades.

"Some parents have issues with getting their kids to training. Maybe we could do both on a Saturday morning. It's something for us to consider,'' he maintained.

Mr Fletcher said improving infrastructure in the zone was also important. This was also one of Mike Parsons' chief aims.

"We want to see adequate lighting on all our fields and we want proper facilities for players and spectators,'' he said.

He is concerned at the costs for young players involved in National Premier League (NPL) teams and high performance squads.

"They're playing in Newcastle every second weekend and that's a big cost for their parents. Sometimes the best kids aren't playing because their parents just can't afford it,'' Mr Fletcher maintained.

The Coastal Premier League, a competition now involving six clubs from Football Mid North Coast and six from North Coast Football, will enter its third season in 2022. A decision by the zones to admits two new clubs - Southern United from Forster-Tuncurry and Bellingen for this season caused some angst in clubland during the off-season.

The CPL has yet to complete a full season because of problems caused by the pandemic.

Mr Fletcher said he supported the CPL but agreed there were issues, primarily with costs and travel.

"We have to work on ways to reduce the costs. I think getting a major sponsor on board for this is important,'' he said.

"Now with Southern United on board we'll have 12 games at Forster-Tuncurry and 12 games in Taree, so that will help cut the travel a bit for the two southern clubs.''

Mr Fletcher has been involved in football all his life, initially with Engadine before moving to the Great Lakes in 1980 when he became involved with the Tuncurry-Forster club, where he has served as president.

He's been on the board of FMNC for the past three years.

Mr Fletcher wants to get around all the grounds in the zone to talk to players and parents and discuss ways to improve the game on a local letter for all participants.

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