New Zealand National League

The New Zealand National League is a men's football league at the top of the New Zealand football 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 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 automatically given a spot each year.[1][2][3]

This article is about the men's league. For the women's league, see New Zealand Women's National League.

New Zealand National League
Founded2021
CountryNew Zealand
ConfederationOFC
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)Chatham Cup
Charity Cup
International cup(s)OFC Champions League
Current championsMiramar Rangers
(2021)
Current premiersMiramar Rangers
Top goalscorerOllie Whyte (7)
TV partnersSky Sports
WebsiteNZF National League
Current: 2022 National League

The regional leagues runs from March through to September, with each league having a varying number of games. The Championship phase runs after the completion of the regional phase 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.

Competition format
Regional National League Zones

There are two stages to the competition: the regional phase, in which each team plays each other twice in their respective regions; and the championship phase, in which the top teams in each region play a single round-robin competition, followed by a grand final in order to determine the champion.[3] Each team can field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality.[4] Each team must also have at least two players aged 20 or under.[5]

Qualification to OFC Champions League

Two teams from the National League qualify for the OFC Champions League each season: those two teams being the two finalists of the championship phase.[3]

History

In March 2021, New Zealand Football announced a change to the structure of both the premiership and the top regional leagues around the country. The four top regional leagues (NRFL Premier, Central Premier League, Mainland Premier League and the FootballSouth Premier League) would be formed into the Northern League, Central League, and the Southern League. These leagues would allow local clubs to qualify for the premiership season (now known as the National League Championship), with the top 4 teams from the Northern League, the top 3 teams from the Central League, and the top 2 teams from the Southern League making up the competition, alongside the Wellington Phoenix Reserve side. All teams that qualify plus the Phoenix Reserves, would then play a single round-robin competition between October and December. The top two placed teams will then progress to the Grand Final.[1]

Current clubs
Location of clubs in New Zealand for the 2021 National League season
Location of clubs in Auckland Region for the 2021 National League season
Location of clubs in Wellington Region for the 2021 National League season


These are the current clubs for the 2021 season:

Team Location Stadium Notes
Auckland City Sandringham, Auckland Kiwitea Street Northern League champion
Auckland United Mount Roskill, Auckland Keith Hay Park Northern League runner up
Birkenhead United Birkenhead, Auckland Shepherds Park Northern League 4th place
Cashmere Technical Woolston, Christchurch Garrick Memorial Park Southern League champions
Eastern Suburbs Kohimarama, Auckland Madills Farm Northern League 3rd place
Miramar Rangers Miramar, Wellington David Farrington Park Central League runner up
Selwyn United Rolleston Foster Park Southern League, runner up
Wellington Olympic Wellington Wakefield Park Central League champion
Wellington Phoenix Reserves Lower Hutt Fraser Park Automatic qualification
Western Suburbs Porirua Endeavour Park Central League 4th place[lower-alpha 1]
  1. Lower Hutt City finished third but cannot qualify for the National League Championship phase due to their MoU with Wellington Phoenix Reserves.[6]

Past winners

Qualifying leagues
Season Northern League Central League Southern League
2021 Auckland City Wellington Olympic Cashmere Technical

Championship
Season Regular Season Grand Final
Premiers Points Runners-up Points Champions Score Runners-up
2021 Miramar Rangers 11 Wellington Olympic 10 Miramar Rangers 7–2 Wellington Olympic

Top scorers
Season Top scorer(s) Club(s) Goals
2021 Ollie Whyte Miramar Rangers 7

Records

The records that follow are accurate as of the end of the 2021 season. Only games played in the Championship Phase (including the final) are considered below.

OFC Champions League
Main article: OFC Champions League

The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier football competition in Oceania. It is organized by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. It has been organized since 2007 under the current format, following its successor, the Oceania Club Championship. Two teams from the New Zealand National League participate annually. Four O-League titles have been won by teams from New Zealand.

Charity Cup
Main article: Charity Cup

The Charity Cup was introduced in 2011 and is contested between the winner of the National League Grand Final and the winner of the Chatham Cup.[7]

See also

References
  1. "New National League competition details confirmed". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. "New National League competition". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. "New National League system". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. "Two National League clubs found to have breached foreign player regulations". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. "Youth leads the way in new National League". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  6. "Wellington Phoenix Announce Strategic Partnership With Lower Hutt City AFC". Wellington Phoenix. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  7. "National League Regulations 2021". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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