The Northern Rivers Football Academy has been established after the closure of the Liverpool FC International Academy in June.

The closure was a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, but this did not stop work behind the scenes to reestablish an Academy at the site in East Lismore.

The new entity is now booming with new 5-a-side Competitions and a recently completed Youth Invitational Tournament kicking off the action.

Action between NRFA and South Lismore. Photo: NRFA

The Youth Invitational Tournament consisted of five U/18’s teams from The Northern Rivers Football Academy, Goonellabah, Byron Bay, Alstonville and South Lismore.

The competition featured four rounds with a night of Finals, and it was the Goonellabah Hornets who won the inaugural competition with a 3-1 win over Alstonville.

The first Youth Invitational Champions, Goonellabah. Photo: NRFA

Alstonville were undefeated in the round games, with Goonellabah’s only defeat coming to Alstonville in Round 3.

The match was locked 1-1 at half time and looked certain for extra time until the game was put to bed late in the second half, with Ethan Allen scoring his second goal of the game and then Theo Clarke scoring in the last minute to make it 3-1.

The 3rd/4th Place Playoff saw the home side NRFA defeat Byron Bay 4-2.

Action from the 3rd/4th Place Playoff between NRFA and Byron Bay. Photo: NRFA

The Academy has already started to make plans for next year’s competition, possibly moving it to the Easter holidays next year as a pre-season tournament for local teams.

The Academy is also running it's regular 5-a-side community competitions with the Tuesday night Men's, Women's and Over 40's Competitions starting Week 4 this week and a similar scenario for the Thursday night Junior Competitions.

5-a-side competitions filled faster than ever before. Photo: NRFA

The Academy has a similar look and feel to what the community has become accustomed to at the Crawford Road site, with High Performance Programs, Development Squads, Holiday Skills Clinics all run by familiar coaches and Technical Director James Gow.

The U/15 Boys side from the Northern Rivers Football Academy. Photo: NRFA

The group now just has a new name, new logo and new kit to move forward.