List of association football clubs in New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Association football, also known as football and previously known as soccer, is a popular recreational sport in New Zealand. The sport is administered in New Zealand by the governing body New Zealand Football (NZF). This is a list of association football clubs that play in the top leagues in New Zealand and Australia.

Administration[]

New Zealand is divided up into Seven regional federations that help in the administration and promotion of the sport in New Zealand:

A-League[]

Team Location Home ground
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Westpac Stadium

The Wellington Phoenix is managed under New Zealand Football itself rather than one of the federations. The only professional football club in New Zealand,[1][2][3] the Wellington Phoenix play in the Australian A-League.[4][5]

New Zealand National League[]

The New Zealand National League is the top men's football league in the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2021, the New Zealand National League is the successor to the New Zealand Football Championship. The league will be contested by ten teams, with teams qualifying from their regional leagues. Four teams will qualify from the Northern League, three qualify from the Central League, two qualify from the newly formed Southern League and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are given an automatic spot each year.[6][7][8]

The regional leagues runs from March through to September, with varying number of games in each region. The Championship phase runs after the completion of the regional leagues with each team playing each other once, followed by a grand final. Each season, two clubs gain qualification to the OFC Champions League, the continental competition for the Oceania region.

Regional competition[]

Premier winter club competitions is divided into three regional leagues though the Southern League first plays their own local leagues to find the teams to play in the combined Southern League:

  • The Northern League, consisting of teams from Federations One (North Harbour/West Auckland), Two (Auckland) and Three (Waikato/Bay of Plenty)
  • The Central League, consisting of teams from Federations Four (Central North Island) and Five (Greater Wellington)
  • The Southern League, consisting of the qualifying teams from Federation Six and Federation Seven leagues
  • The Mainland Premier League, consisting of teams from Federation Six (Upper South Island)
  • The FootballSouth Premier League, consisting of teams from Federation Seven (Lower South Island)
  • The Capital Football W-League, is a Women's Football league consisting of teams from Federations Four (Central North Island) and Five (Greater Wellington)

Northern League[]

As of the 2021 season.[9][10]

Team Location Home Ground
Auckland City Sandringham, Auckland Kiwitea Street
Auckland United Mount Roskill, Auckland Keith Hay Park
Bay Olympic New Lynn, Auckland Olympic Park
Birkenhead United Birkenhead, Auckland Shepherds Park
Eastern Suburbs Kohimarama, Auckland Madills Farm
Hamilton Wanderers Chartwell, Hamilton Porritt Stadium
Manukau United Māngere East, Auckland Centre Park
Melville United Melville, Hamilton Gower Park
North Shore United Devonport, Auckland Allen Hill Stadium
Northern Rovers Glenfield, Auckland McFetridge Park
West Coast Rangers Whenuapai, Auckland Fred Taylor Park
Western Springs Westmere, Auckland Seddon Fields

Central League[]

As of the 2021 season.[9][10]

Club Location Home Ground(s)
Lower Hutt City Lower Hutt, Wellington Fraser Park
Miramar Rangers Miramar, Wellington David Farrington Park
Napier City Rovers Napier Bluewater Stadium
North Wellington Wellington Alex Moore Park
Petone Petone, Wellington, Memorial Park
Wainuiomata Lower Hutt, Wellington Richard Prouse Park
Wairarapa United Masterton Memorial Park Turf
Waterside Karori Karori, Wellington Karori Park
Wellington Olympic Wellington Wakefield Park
Western Suburbs Porirua, Wellington Endeavour Park

Southern League[]

This is the first season of the new Southern League, as of the start of 2021 season, no teams have qualified for the league yet.

Mainland Premier League[]

As of the 2021 season.[11]

Team City Home Ground
Cashmere Technical Woolston Garrick Park
Christchurch United Yaldhurst Christchurch Football Centre
Coastal Spirit Linwood Cuthberts Green
Ferrymead Bays Redcliffs Barnett Park
Halswell United Halswell Halswell Domain
Nelson Suburbs Nelson Saxton Field
Nomads United Harewood Tulett Park
Selwyn United Rolleston Foster Park

FootballSouth Premier League[]

As of the 2021 season.[12]

Club Location Home Ground
Green Island Green Island Sunnyvale Park
Mosgiel AFC Mosgiel Memorial Park Ground
Northern AFC North East Valley The Gardens Ground
Otago University Dunedin North Caledonian Ground
Queenstown AFC Queenstown Queenstown Events Centre Stadium
Roslyn-Wakari AFC Kaikorai Valley Ellis Park
South City Royals FC St Clair Tahuna Park
Wanaka AFC Wanaka Wanaka Rec Centre

References[]

  1. ^ "Fact file: New Zealand football". Tourism New Zealand. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  2. ^ "The battle to get a New Zealand team in Australia's W-League". Stuff. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  3. ^ Voerman, Andrew (25 March 2021). "The Wellington Phoenix have as large a Kiwi presence right now as they ever have had". Stuff. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  4. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Football in New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  5. ^ "What's in a name? It's been a decade since the Wellington Phoenix got theirs". Stuff. 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  6. ^ "New National League competition details confirmed". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  7. ^ "New National League competition". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  8. ^ "New National League system". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "2021 Northern and Central League Player Lists". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b "National League kicks off this weekend". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Mainland Football - New World Premiership". Mainland Football. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Football South - Otago Senior Competitions". FootballSouth. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
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