New Zealand football league system

New Zealand football league system

A detailed layout of the league system, as of 2022.
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Association football
Promotion and relegation	Yes
National system
Federation	New Zealand Football
Confederation	OFC
Top division	Men: National League Women: Women's National League
Second division	Men: Central League Northern League Southern League
Cup competition	Men: Chatham Cup Charity Cup Women: Kate Sheppard Cup
Association football in New Zealand

The New Zealand league system is the structure of leagues nationally and regionally, newly updated for the 2021 season. ^[1] The system previously had a path from grassroots to the top flight but that stopped in 2004 with the New Zealand Football Championship being created as a replacement to the former New Zealand National Soccer League.

The current top flight of New Zealand Football is the National League, which had its inaugural season in 2021. ^[2]

The top 4 Divisions of the Northern Region Football leagues for both men and women (Tiers 2–5) were restructured for the 2023 season. ^[3]

Cups

The premier cup competition in New Zealand is the Chatham Cup which dates back to 1923.

Regional cup competitions are also run within federations, allowing multiple teams from the same club to enter.

Men's structure

Clubs at the top of the pyramid are only permitted to enter a single team in their confederation's higher levels. Other teams from the same club are permitted to enter teams below this threshold, but have restrictions on promotion. ^{[4] [5]} Clevedon FC and Banks Peninsula AFC are currently the lowest ranked 1st team in the country, playing in NRF South Division 9 and Mainland Division 10 (Tier 14) respectively. ^[6]

Level	League(s)/division(s)
1	New Zealand National League 10 clubs [a]
2	Northern League 12 clubs – 4 qualifications, 2 relegations										Central League 10 clubs – 3 qualifications, 1 relegation										Southern League 10 clubs – 2 qualifications, 1 relegation
3	NRFL Championship 12 clubs – 2 promotions, 2 relegations [b]										Central League 2 10 clubs - 1 promotion, 1 relegation										Canterbury Premiership League 10 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 1 relegation				Nelson Bays Premiership League 8 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 1 relegation				Southern Premiership 10 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 0-1 relegations
4	NRFL Northern Conference 8 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 1–2 relegations [b] NRFL Southern Conference 8 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 1–2 relegations [b]										Horizons Premiership – 8 clubs Pacific Premiership – 7 clubs Taranaki Premiership – 8 clubs					Capital 1 – 10 clubs					Canterbury Championship League – 10 clubs				Nelson Bays Division 2 – 8 clubs Marlborough Division 1 – 4 clubs				South Canterbury Division 1 – 5 clubs Otago Division 1 – 8 clubs Southland Division 1 – 6 clubs
5	NRF League One 8 clubs 1 promotion					WaiBOP League One 10 clubs – 1 promotion					Horizons Championship – 8 clubs Hawke's Bay Division 2 – 10 clubs Eastern League Division 1 – 12 clubs Taranaki Championship – 12 clubs					Capital 2 – 10 clubs					Canterbury Division 1 – 10 clubs				Nelson Division 3 – 6 clubs Marlborough Division 2 – 8 clubs				South Canterbury Division 2 – 5 clubs Otago Division 2 – 7 clubs Southland Division 2 – 6 clubs
6	NRF Northland Division 1 – 8 clubs NRF Division 1 – 10 clubs					Waikato Division 1 – 8 clubs Bay League Division 1 – 6 clubs					Manawatu Division 1 – 9 clubs Whanganui Championship – 9 clubs Hawke's Bay Division 2 – 10 clubs Eastern League Division II – 12 clubs Taranaki Division 1 – 12 clubs					Capital 3 – 10 clubs					Canterbury Division 2 – 10 clubs Nelson Division 4 – 8 clubs								South Canterbury Division 3 – 7 clubs Otago Division 3 – 8 clubs Southland Division 2 – 12 clubs
7	NRF Northland Division 2 – 6 clubs NRF Division 2 – 10 clubs Waikato Division 2 – 10 clubs Bay League Division 2 – 6 clubs										Manawatu Division 2 – 10 clubs Hawke's Bay Division 3 – 10 clubs					Capital 4 - 10 clubs					Canterbury Division 3 – 8 clubs Otago Division 4 – 11 clubs
8	NRF Northland Division 3 – 8 clubs NRF Division 3 – 10 clubs Waikato Division 3 – 10 clubs Bay League Division 2B – 6 clubs										Manawatu Division 2 – 12 clubs Wellington 1 – 10 clubs Horowhenua/Kapiti Local League 1 – 9 clubs Wairarapa 1 – 6 clubs										Canterbury Division 4 – 8 clubs
9	NRF Northland Division 4 – 9 clubs NRF Division 4 – 10 clubs Waikato Division 4 – 10 clubs Bay League Division 3 – 7 clubs										Wellington 2 – 10 clubs Horowhenua/Kapiti Local League 2 – 6 clubs Wairarapa 2/3 – 14 clubs										Canterbury Division 5 – 8 clubs
10	NRF Division 5 – 12 clubs										Wellington 3 – 10 clubs										Canterbury Division 6 – 8 clubs
11	NRF Harbour Division 6 – 10 clubs NRF Central Division 6 – 10 clubs NRF South Division 6 – 9 clubs										Wellington 4 – 10 clubs										Canterbury Division 7 – 7 clubs
12	NRF Harbour Division 7 – 9 clubs NRF Central Division 7 – 10 clubs NRF South Division 7 – 10 clubs										Wellington 5 – 16 clubs										Canterbury Division 8 – 7 clubs
13	NRF Harbour Division 8 – 10 clubs NRF Central Division 8 – 9 clubs NRF South Division 8 – 10 clubs										—										Canterbury Division 9 – 7 clubs
14	NRF Harbour Division 9 – 10 clubs NRF Central Division 9 – 10 clubs NRF South Division 9 – 8 clubs										—										Canterbury Division 10 – 7 clubs
15	NRF Harbour Division 10 – 9 clubs NRF Central Division 10 – 9 clubs										—										—

Women's structure

Sources ^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

Level	League(s)/division(s)
1	New Zealand Women's National League 10 clubs [c]
2	NRFL Women's Premiership 8 clubs – 4 qualifications, 1 relegation		Capital W-League 7 clubs – 1 relegation		South Island League – 9 clubs
3	NRFL Women's Championship 8 clubs – 1 promotion, 1 relegation		Central Women's Federation League – 5 clubs	Women's Capital Premier 8 clubs – 1 promotion, 1 relegation	Canterbury Women's Premiership League – 7 clubs	Women's Southern Premier League – 7 clubs
4	NRF Women's Conference 6 clubs – 0–1 promotions	WaiBOP W-League 6 clubs – 0–1 promotions	Manawatu Premiership – 6 clubs Whanganui Kelly Hiroa League – 8 clubs Hawke's Bay Women's Division 1 – 5 clubs Gisborne Eastern League – 6 clubs Taranaki Women's Premiership – 12 clubs	Capital Women's 1 – 10 clubs	Canterbury Women's Championship League – 8 clubs Nelson Women's Premiership Division 1 – 11 clubs Marlborough Women's Social League – 3 clubs	Otago Division One – 6 clubs Southland Kolk Cup – 7 clubs
5	NRF Women's Northland Division 1 – 5 clubs NRF Women's Division 1 – 8 clubs Waikato Women's Division 1 – 8 clubs Women's Bay League Division 1 – 9 clubs		Manawatu Women's Championship – 6 clubs Hawkes Bay Women's Division 2 – 7 clubs	Capital Women's 2 – 10 clubs	—	Otago Division Two – 8 clubs
6	NRF Northland Women's Division 2 – 6 clubs NRF Women's Division 2 – 10clubs Waikato Women's Division 2 – 9 clubs		—	Capital Women's 3 – 11 clubs	—	—
7	NRF Harbour Division 3 – 7 clubs NRF Central Division 3 – 9 clubs		—	Wairarapa League – 4 clubs	—	—
8	NRF Harbour Division 4 – 10 clubs NRF Central Division 4 – 8 clubs		—	—	—	—
9	NRF Central Division 5 – 7 clubs		—	—	—	—

Notes

1. 9 clubs qualify from regional leagues to join the Auckland FC Reserves and Wellington Phoenix Reserves, who both automatically qualify. ^[2]
2. Promotion and relegation is dependent on regulations that only allow one team per club in the top grades ^{[4] [5] [7]}
3. 4 clubs qualify from Northern Premiership to join Canterbury United Pride, Central Football, Southern United, Wellington Phoenix Reserves and two Capital Football federation sides representing the Central Conference, who all automatically qualify. ^[2]

References

1. "The National League System". New Zealand Football . Retrieved 26 June 2021.
2. "New National League competition details confirmed". New Zealand Football . 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
3. "2021 NRFL Review". Northern Region Football .
4. "Waikato Bay of Plenty Football, Regulations 2021". WaiBOP Football Federation. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
5. "Northern Region Football Playing Regulations". Northern Region Football . Retrieved 26 June 2021.
6. "Community Senior Men". Northern Region Football .
7. "Capital Football Federation Football Playing Regulations". Capital Football . Retrieved 27 June 2021.
8. "Capital Football Federation Football Playing Regulations". Capital Football . 2021.
9. "Northern Regional Football League Regulations". Northern Region Football . 2021.
10. "Football South - Fixtures & Results". Football South. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
11. "Southland Football - Senior Fixtures/Results/Table". Football South. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
12. "WaiBOP Football Federation - Fixtures & Results". WaiBOP Football Federation. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
13. "Mainland Football - Football Fixtures & Results". Mainland Football. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
14. "Football Fixtures - Home". Central Football . Retrieved 15 July 2021.
15. "NO. 4 DISTRICT FEDERATION OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL SENIOR COMPETITION REGULATIONS". Central Football .