Netball South has started advertising for a coach to guide its team in the national league next year.
Netball New Zealand [NNZ] is expected to confirm league details shortly, but it is understood it will run in conjunction with the ANZ Championship.
Each of the five zones - South, Mainland, Central, Waikato-Bay of Plenty and Northern - will have a team in its first year, before possibly expanding to eight teams in 2017.
It is proposed the teams will play a double round-robin, followed by finals, between April and June.
Fourteen matches will be played after ANZ Championship games on Sundays, and seven stand-alone games on Saturdays, NNZ chief executive Hilary Poole told the Otago Daily Times last month.
The league will make the week-long national championships a thing of the past, and is being introduced to increase the depth and quality of players in the country.
Netball South chief executive Lana Winders said she wanted to fill the coaching position by the end of the month.
''We're looking for an ambitious coach with aspirations to further their career,'' she said.
''Someone who has already invested in their coaching qualifications and could ultimately see themselves reaching the top tier.
''We want a strong leader who is also passionate about cultivating the potential of our rising talent.''
The South team could provide an opportunity for some Steel bench players to get some court time, but the majority will probably be made up of young players from Otago and Southland.
''This is an amateur team, which will feature our local players and reach into grassroots community netball throughout Otago and Southland to identify the talent required,'' Winders said.
''This [league] will enable our next tier of athletes to experience a competition format with the right intensity and duration to mirror the ANZ Championship, making the step up less daunting.''
The Steel has been allocated four Sunday and three Saturday games next year, meaning Southern fans will see plenty of both teams.
