The committees of Rotorua United AFC and Ngongotaha AFC are excited to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the two clubs to work collaboratively for the 2020 season.  
 
Ngongotaha and Rotorua United have committed to work together to combine their strengths to optimise football coaching and player pathways in the Rotorua region. The initial focus will be on five of the new entity's senior men’s and women’s teams. In the interests of making the best use of resources, Ngongotaha and Rotorua United are planning to enter combined teams playing under the name Waiariki in The Soccer Shop WaiBOP Premiership, The Soccer Shop WaiBOP W-League, Men's Bay 1, Men's Bay Over-35s and Bay 1 Women's, and also hoping to in the girls U-13 space.
 
The name Waiariki has been gifted to the collaboration after consultation with Te Arawa as a name that best represents the area the two clubs represent.  
 
Rotorua United Chair Rawiri White said: “Since our new committee formed in 2019 we focused on how we needed to work effectively to be player-centred. Without a doubt we believed this involved working collaboratively to create an environment which places the player and coach pathways at the core to lift football in the area given the strong history the region boasts. 
 
"It was great to discover that the Ngongotaha FC committee felt the same and we therefore are really delighted to have embarked on a way forward together to achieve this common goal.” 
 
Ngongotaha FC President Andrew Robb said: “We felt it is a positive step to meet to discuss players’ needs across the whole district.  The clubs have now set up a joint working group. We are delighted to make this progress as no doubt a combined effort will see benefits for all of us. 
 
"We’ve felt for a long time that competing for the same players and coaches has meant that we have not achieved the best possible outcome for football in the area. The initial collaborative focus on senior male and senior female teams is an exciting one for football and approaching the 2020 season in this way will allow for consultation to take place with both clubs’ memberships on what the future might look like.” 
 
The joint working group consists of four committee members from each club. The two clubs' collaboration has created an exciting pre-season window and they are looking forward to developing the relationship as the season unfolds.