New Zealand National League

Last updated

New Zealand National League
New Zealand National League.png
Founded2021;4 years ago (2021)
CountryNew Zealand
Confederation OFC
Number of clubs11
Level on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) Chatham Cup
Charity Cup
International cup(s) OFC Champions League
Current champions Auckland City (2nd title)
(2024)
Most championships Auckland City
(2 titles)
Top goalscorer Garbhan Coughlan (29)
Broadcaster(s) FIFA+
TVNZ (Highlights)
Website nzfootball.co.nz/nzfnl
Current: 2025 National League

The New Zealand Men's National League (NZNL), known as the Dettol Men's National League for sponsorship reasons, is an amateur [1] 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 is 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. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

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.

The New Zealand National League was Oceania's strongest national league for four consecutive years in 2023 according to IFFHS. [5]

Competition format

Regional National League Zones New Zealand Football regional leagues.svg
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. [4] Each team can field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality. [6] Originally each team had to also start at least two players aged 20 or under in every game. [7] Before the 2023 season this was changed so that players aged 20 or under must account for 10% of available playing minutes throughout the season. [8]

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. [4]

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. [2]

In November 2021, during the first edition of the National League, New Zealand Football announced the National League had been cancelled for that season due to COVID-19. [9] Qualified teams from Auckland and Waikato were unable to participate due to their alert levels. New Zealand Football replaced this with a one-off competition, the South Central Series, for teams qualifying from the Central League and Southern League. Miramar Rangers were both the premiers and champions for this stand alone competition. [10]

The 2022 New Zealand National League Championship phase kicked off on 1 October 2022. [11]

Current clubs

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Auckland
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Wellington
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Christchurch
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Location of clubs in New Zealand for the 2025 National League season
Blue pog.svg Northern League; Yellow pog.svg Central League; Green pog.svg Southern League
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AKC
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AKU
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BAY
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BIR
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EAS
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FEN
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WSP
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Location of clubs in Auckland Region for the 2025 National League season
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MR
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NW
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PT
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WK
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IB/WO
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WPR
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Location of clubs in Wellington Region for the 2025 National League season
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Location of clubs in Christchurch District for the 2025 National League season

These are the current clubs for the 2025 season:

TeamStadiumLocationNotes
Auckland City Kiwitea Street Sandringham, Auckland Northern League 4th place
Auckland FC Reserves Fred Taylor Park Whenuapai, Auckland Automatic qualification
Auckland United Keith Hay Park Mount Roskill, Auckland Northern League 3rd place
Birkenhead United Shepherds Park Beach Haven, Auckland Northern League runners-up
Christchurch United United Sports Centre Spreydon, Christchurch Southern League runners-up
Coastal Spirit Tāne Norton Park Linwood, Christchurch Southern League champion
Miramar Rangers David Farrington Park Miramar, Wellington Central League runners-up
Wellington Olympic Wakefield Park Island Bay, Wellington Central League champion
Wellington Phoenix Reserves Fraser Park Taitā, Lower Hutt Automatic qualification
Western Springs Seddon Fields Westmere, Auckland Northern League Champions
Western Suburbs Endeavour Park Whitby, Porirua Central League 3rd place

    Sponsorship

    On 31 January 2025, New Zealand Football agreed a multi-year sponsorship deal with cleaning brand Dettol for naming rights of the National League from the start of the 2025 season. [12]

    Media coverage

    Sky Sport had the broadcasting rights for the first two seasons (including the South Central Series). One game a week was live on television with the remaining four games free to air on either the Sky Sport Next or New Zealand Football YouTube channels. [13] [14]

    In September 2023, New Zealand signed a deal to have all National League games streamed for free on FIFA+ worldwide. This includes select games of the qualifying league games as well. [15] [16] On 8 May 2024, New Zealand Football announced they had partnered with Sportway to continue broadcasting on FIFA+. 4K Sportway cameras have begun to be installed at grounds as of May 2024 with plans to broadcast over 200 games for the 2024 season. [17]

    Past winners

    Qualifying leagues

    SeasonNorthern LeagueCentral LeagueSouthern League
    2021 Auckland City Wellington Olympic Cashmere Technical
    2022 Auckland City Wellington Olympic Christchurch United
    2023 Auckland City Wellington Olympic Christchurch United
    2024 Auckland City Wellington Olympic Cashmere Technical
    2025 Western Springs Wellington Olympic Coastal Spirit

    Championship

    SeasonGrand Final
    ChampionsScoreRunners-up
    2021 [a] Miramar Rangers 7–2 Wellington Olympic
    2022 Auckland City 3–2 Wellington Olympic
    2023 Wellington Olympic 2–0 Auckland City
    2024 Auckland City 2–1 ( a.e.t. ) Birkenhead United
    1. ↑ 2021 National League season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Northern regions; [9] Championship played as South Central Series, with the northern clubs missing in the first edition.

    By league

    LeagueChampionshipsClubs
    Northern 2 Auckland City (2)
    Central 1 Wellington Olympic (1)

    By region

    Region ChampionshipsClubs
    Auckland 2 Auckland City (2)
    Wellington 1 Wellington Olympic (1)

    By city/town

    City / Town ChampionshipsClubs
    Flag of Auckland.svg Auckland 2 Auckland City (2)
    Flag of Wellington City, New Zealand.svg Wellington 1 Wellington Olympic (1)

    Top scorers

    SeasonTop scorer(s)Club(s)Goals
    2021 National League season cancelled
    2022 Flag of New Zealand.svg Gianni Bouzoukis
    Flag of Ireland.svg Garbhan Coughlan     		Wellington Olympic
    Cashmere Technical    		9
    2023 Flag of New Zealand.svg Gianni Bouzoukis
    Flag of Ireland.svg Garbhan Coughlan     		Wellington Olympic
    Cashmere Technical    		11
    2024 Flag of New Zealand.svg Daniel Bunch
    Flag of Ireland.svg Garbhan Coughlan
    Flag of New Zealand.svg Monty Patterson     		Birkenhead United
    Cashmere Technical
    Birkenhead United    		8

    Records

    The records are up to date as of the end of the 2024 season. As the 2021 season was cancelled, the 2021 South Central Series was not officially part of the National League. [9]

    MVP winners

    SeasonWinner(s)Club(s)
    2022 [18] Flag of Croatia.svg Silvio Rodić Birkenhead United
    2023 [19] Flag of Ireland.svg Garbhan Coughlan Cashmere Technical
    2024 [20] Flag of New Zealand.svg Monty Patterson Birkenhead United

    Steve Sumner Trophy

    SeasonWinner(s)Club(s)
    2023 [21] Flag of New Zealand.svg Joel Stevens Wellington Olympic
    2024 [20] Flag of New Zealand.svg Mario Ilich Auckland City

    OFC Champions League

    The OFC Champions League , also known as the O-League, is the premier football competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. It has been organised 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

    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. [22] Although it was planned to start in 2022 after the inaugural season of the National League, the Charity Cup only restarted in 2024. [23] [24]

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/129546987/the-sham-of-amateurism-in-top-club-football
    2. 1 2 "New National League competition details confirmed". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
    3. ↑ "New National League competition". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
    4. 1 2 3 "New National League system". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
    5. ↑ "IFFHS MEN'S STRONGEST NATIONAL LEAGUE IN THE WORLD - THE TOP 100". IFFHS . 21 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
    6. ↑ "Two National League clubs found to have breached foreign player regulations". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 23 April 2021.
    7. ↑ "Youth leads the way in new National League". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 23 April 2021.
    8. ↑ "National League regulations for U-20 players revised". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 9 March 2023.
    9. 1 2 3 "National League Championship cancelled, new interregional competition announced and Chatham Cup moved to 2022". New Zealand Football.
    10. ↑ "Goal-filled final weekend in the South Central Series as Miramar Rangers (men) and Southern United (women) crowned winners". NZFootball.co.nz. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
    11. ↑ "National League Championship 2022 fixtures launched". New Zealand Football. 14 September 2022.
    12. ↑ "Dettol Become Major Partner of New Zealand Football and Official Naming Partner of the Dettol National League". New Zealand Football. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
    13. ↑ "Updated broadcast schedule released for National League Championship with 85 games free to air". New Zealand Football. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    14. ↑ "Fixture List 2022". New Zealand Football. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    15. ↑ "New Zealand Football signs long-term partnership with FIFA+ to make international friendlies and domestic competitions free to watch". New Zealand Football. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    16. ↑ "How to watch New Zealand football live on FIFA+". FIFA . 16 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
    17. ↑ "New Zealand Football partner with Sportway to broadcast over 200 live domestic games in 2024". New Zealand Football. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
    18. ↑ "Birkenhead 'keeper Silvio Rodic named MVP for Men's National League". friendsoffootballnz.com. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
    19. ↑ "Announced at today's #NZNationalLeague Championship Grand Final were the winners of the men's and women's MVP and Golden Boot awards". New Zealand Football Twitter. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
    20. 1 2 "Congratulations to all the individual awards winners in the Men's National League Championship 2024 🎉". New Zealand Football Instagram. Retrieved 4 December 2004.
    21. ↑ "Olympic's Joel Stevens wins Steve Sumner Trophy for Grand Final performance". friendsoffootballnz.com. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
    22. ↑ "National League Regulations 2021". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 12 August 2021.
    23. ↑ "NZF Charity Cup returns to kick off the 2024 domestic football season". New Zealand Football. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
    24. ↑ "Wellington Olympic to face Christchurch United in season-opening Charity Cup". friendsoffootballnz.com. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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