A revived Western Premier League will only do good things for the growth of football in the region, according to the club which spearheaded talks of a return.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Panorama vice-president Brent Osborne played a key role in helping kick-start the competition's revival and said the WPL would "sit nicely in the middle" of local competitions and Western FC, which plays in the National Premier League.
Osborne never played in the old iteration of the WPL - which collapsed at the end of the 2012 season - but he understands the benefit the competition can play for football in the Central West.
"I think it will be a really good thing and if you look at the sport at the moment, there's a lot of good footballers in the region," he said.
"There's opportunities for them to play at an NPL level with Western FC, which is fantastic, but below that, there's a real gap between the quality of the competition at a local level.
"So the WPL, in my opinion, will sit really nicely in the middle and create a really competitive competition for teams, particularly in places like Dubbo where travelling to the Sydney competition is really difficult.
"I think we're going to find the WPL as a place for really good footballers to play at a more competitive level for a longer time in the Central West and that can only be a good thing for us playing now and for the years to come."
Osborne said there was a good "buzz" about the competition's revival when he first starting contacting other teams in Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Lithgow and Parkes.
"It was really just hitting the phones. We made a couple of trips to Orange and a few other places," he said.
"We were was just chatting to other clubs in the Central West over the past couple of months.
"We were getting a feel of how they were going in their competitions, to see if there was an interest to get this kind of competition up and going. Turns out there was a pretty big desire at a club level to make it happen and give it a crack again.
"I think there were a few lessons learnt from the last time the competition was run, to make sure it lasts long term.
"Football in the Central West is in a really good spot, but there's a good need for it, which is great."
Besides Panorama, the likely clubs for the 2020 WPL season are Lithgow Workman's Club, Parkes, Barnstoneworth, Waratahs, South Dubbo Wanderers, Dubbo Bulls, Macquarie United and Orana Spurs.
Clubs have been given until February 10 to finalise their commitment to play.
The door is also open for Abercrombie if if they reach the numbers before the cut-off, but it's looking unlikely the club will take part in the competition.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS AND SPORT?
Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...