Caversham coach Malcolm Fleming is a supporter of the new league, but has questioned its travel arrangements.
In second place in the Football South premier league, the club has a chance to confirm its qualification if it can beat the top-of-the-table Dunedin Technical side today.
However, Fleming said if that eventuated, the team would have to consider its involvement.
It had been under the impression those who qualified would be flown to away games.
While that would happen to some degree, the games in Christchurch would now have teams driven in buses or, in some cases, they would drive themselves in minibuses.
That made for a much longer weekend and a far bigger commitment to fit around work and family life at short notice.
On top of that, there was the safety factor of not being able to leave until late on Friday or early Saturday morning on frosty roads.
''If we qualify, we entered a competition to be in a travelling league where we were flying to Christchurch and Nelson,'' Fleming said.
''We'll have to sit down with the players and discuss if they want to travel by bus now.
''So if we qualify, you're taking people away for the whole weekend, and that wasn't why we entered the competition.
''We entered the competition because it was going to be a flight there and you're away for a day.''
Football South CEO Chris Wright acknowledged it was a big commitment for all involved.
However, he said the league acted as a stepping stone to the national league.
That had Southern United training five nights a week and being away all weekend for games.
He said keeping costs down was important and not knowing which clubs had qualified in the top three places made booking flights hard.
The short notice in bookings meant flight prices had risen, so the driving alternative was taken up.
That would have an impact on either one or two games per club.
Fleming had said many clubs had wanted the teams to play in the travelling league to be set at the end of last year.
Wright agreed that some did, although the majority across the South and Mainland federations had wanted the opportunity to qualify.
That made things more difficult from a financial and logistical perspective but made for a fairer qualification system.
''When we confirmed the league, the intention was for it to be as much as possible flights, because of the safety aspect and also because of the time involved,'' Wright said.
''It's much nicer sitting on a flight than driving a minibus.
''However, we've been clear from the start that clubs need to be flexible and this year is a pilot year and it's all about learning.''
The Football South premier league is reaching its climax.
Dunedin Tech leads the way on 16 points and plays Caversham (14 points). Meanwhile Southland United and Queenstown Rovers play each other, both trailing on 13 points.
Queenstown and Dunedin Tech also have a game in hand, to be played next weekend.
Roslyn Wakari also remains an outside chance of a top-three spot on 11 points.
