40 and not out Necevski vows to keep going
APIA Leichhardt FC’s number one shotstopper Ivan Necevski has vowed that COVID-19 restrictions will not stop him from continuing to play on in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition.
At 40, Necevski, who has been playing football from the age of eight, stated to Football NSW that as long as he is fit and healthy he will be continuing on with the game he loves.
“Without a doubt, as long as I am fit and APIA are happy to have me, I will keep playing the sport I have been playing for, for 32 years now.
“This break has given my body some rest, but I am buzzing and raring to go when the NPL restarts.”
News of a return to the game across all age groups filtered through on Wednesday via the NSW State Government, a decision Necevski was delighted with.
“Of course, to hear that football in general is returning to normal has been a breath of fresh air as I am sure many will be anticipating the 1st of July when the pitches across NSW become active once again.
“I know we are awaiting final details on what will be happening with the NPL but I honestly cannot wait to get back into it.
“I’ve missed the game very much and everything associated with it especially being in and around the boys and having that changeroom dynamic back again at APIA, nothing beats that.
“I’ve missed just feeling free out on that pitch with the boys, that’s an emotion that cannot be described unless you’ve played the sport.”
The self-confessed ‘rev head’ has kept himself sane during the COVID-19 football break fine tuning his unique Mazda RX-8.
“I’ve always been a keen car enthusiast, so I’ve been working on my Mazda RX-8 and built a custom turbo setup on it.
“It’s the first of its kind in Australia so pretty proud of that having done most of the work myself, other than some custom fabrication and tuning with the help of some mates.
“Apart from my car hobby that’s kept me busy, I work as a Portable Fire Equipment Technician for DEM Fire and Essential Services Group and fortunately this continued throughout the COVID-19 period.
“The only part of life I have lost out on has been the temporary suspension of football but other than that it’s been normal work as per usual although I did have to home school the kids which was a good experience as both are quite academic and enjoyed it.”
Necevski shown with his beloved RX-8 below, something he has been working on during the Football lockdown.
