Northern FC are based in the Northern area of the city of Dunedin, within the Southern Football Federation region of the New Zealand Football structure.
The club has 10 senior teams, from Men's and Women's Premiership teams, Men's Reserves, Men's Third and Fourth grade teams, a Men's over 35's and 45s in the masters grades, and a junior club with a large number of teams from 6th grade through to Youth grade, and U15 and U17 youth development teams. The club also has an U19 team who form to compete in end of season tournaments.
The club's home ground is The Caledonian Ground, with trainings and other teams playing at Logan Park Turf, the Gardens Ground (The Clubrooms), Chingford Park, and Forrester Park, all are in the Northern area of the city of Dunedin.
Founded in 1888 Northern FC is the oldest continually operating football club in the Southern Hemisphere.
Club history
In 1888 two football clubs called Northern and Southern were formed in Dunedin. The Northern club played in Brown’s paddock in North Dunedin, while the Southern club played at Tahuna Park in South Dunedin. The Northern club is still operating today.
Prior to the formation of the Southern League competition in 1968, Northern was the winner of Dunedin’s top league 14 times. Fiercely proud of its history, Northern is one of the more successful teams in Dunedin with eight Chatham Cup Final appearances. Two of the club's proudest moments were in 1959 and 1961, winning the Chatham Cup, as well as the National Rothman Cup in 1962. 19 Northern FC players have represented New Zealand winning full international caps as "All Whites".
In response to low player numbers in 1972 the Senior club joined with Maori Hill FC in the interests of football in the Northern end of Dunedin, and so the North End United club was formed, however at junior level, both Maori Hill and Northern maintained their individual identities. In 1991 it was agreed that the Senior club would revert to its historic Northern FC name.
In 2013 the club celebrated its 125th Jubilee, as part of the celebrations the Men’s Premiership team played Green Island FC in the first club football match to be held under the roof at Dunedin's iconic covered Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Northern’s teams play in Black and White striped shirts, Black Shorts and Black socks as the home kit, with Orange and Black as official away kit colours.
Recent seasons
Men's Southern Premiership, and Men's Southern Division One Fletcher Cup
Following a number of seasons where the club achieved limited success, and in particular some very heavy defeats in 2020, changes were made to the coaching and support staff ahead of the 2021 season. A change in approach resulted in recruiting promising local younger players, alongside experienced players like National League and Olympic Representative Goal Keeper Liam Little. Increased preparation and a hard work ethic resulted in improved performances and eventually results started to improve on the pitch. The Men's Southern Premiership team ended the 2021 season winning 4 games and drawing 2 games, which included beating the 2020 reigning ODT Men's Southern Premiership winners Otago University AFC.
2022 saw the performances and results continue to improve further. Again, young promising local players were recruited to the club, and were provided with positive environment to train, play and develop. The Men's Southern Premiership team led the league for a long period in 2022, ending the season winning 9 games, drawing 4 games, and eventually finishing 4th place.
The steady progress made in 2022 continued into 2023 and despite some player movements in and out of the club, the Men's Premiership team continued to improve again, ending the season in 3rd place winning 8 games, drawing 6 games.
2023 was also a successful season for both Men's Southern Football Fletcher Cup and Men's Southern Football Division Two teams. The Fletcher Cup team finished runners up in the league and played in the final of the Chinese Charity Cup, and the Southern Football Division Two team won the league.
Women's ODT Southern Premiership
2022 saw the Women's Premiership team return to the ODT Women's Southern Premiership. The young team faced a challenging season against opposition with much more experience, the team finished 6th. Since then the coaches and players have continue to develop the team and have delivered much improved performances each season.
U15 and U17 Youth Development League Squads
Northern FC have a strong focus and proven track record in recent seasons of developing young players. Youth development of local players is important to the club and a clear pathway exists from Youth to Senior Football grades.
Northern have an U15s team in the Football South Regional Development League which is a pinnacle Youth league in the Southern region and involve teams from Dunedin, South Canterbury, Central Otago/Lakes and Southland, with the U17 team playing locally in the Dunedin competition. The club also has an U19 team who form to compete in end of season tournaments.
In 2023 Northern FC were nominated for 5 awards at the Southern Football Senior Awards evening:
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Header text
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Matt Johnstone
Sports Person of the Year (Male)
Nominated
Young Male Player of the Year
Rory Hibbert
Nominated
Female Coach of the Year
Grace Teah
Nominated
Female Personality of the Year
Kirsten Pram
Nominated
Club President of the Year
Aaron Warrington and Kirsten Pram
Winner
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