Team Wellington Football Club was a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington, New Zealand. They competed in the ISPS Handa Premiership. Team Wellington had traditionally been one of the most successful football clubs in New Zealand since their inception in 2004, having been crowned league champions twice and won the 2018 OFC Champions League.[3] Their home games were played at David Farrington Park.
Chart of yearly ladder positions for Team Wellington in NZ 1st division soccer
Team Wellington FC was formed in 2004 by a consortium of Wellington clubs to compete in the New Zealand Football Championship. The uniform was yellow with black shorts, utilising the primary sporting colours of the Wellington region.[1]
In the inaugural season (2004/2005) of the NZFC, Team Wellington FC performed below expectations, finishing sixth.[4] They improved in the next season, ending the season in fourth place.[4]
In 2007 the Australian A-League placed a franchise in Wellington, known as the Wellington Phoenix. The Phoenix quickly entered a strategic alliance with Team Wellington. The new head coach for Team Wellington, Stu Jacobs, was hired as an assistant coach for the Phoenix while retaining his NZFC role. Team Wellington also changed their kit to a predominantly black strip similar to that of the Phoenix, using yellow as a highlight colour.
Team Wellington FC started the 2007/08 season with a five-game winning streak, a record for the competition. This was ended by a 1–1 draw against Auckland City FC on 15 December. Team Wellington finished the season in third place, qualifying for the Preliminary Final against second-placed Auckland City.[4] Team Wellington defeated Auckland City 4–3 in overtime. Team Wellington thus went on to the Grand Final, in which they were defeated by Waitakere United 2–0 at Trusts Stadium.[4]
On 21 April 2015, Team Wellington reached the final of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League in their first appearance in the competition. They were beaten on penalties by the defending champions Auckland City in the final on 26 April, having drawn 1–1 after extra time.[4]
Heading into the 2016–2017 season, José Figueira took on the role as coach at Team Wellington on 1 July 2016.[5]
In March 2016, Team Wellington won their first ever ISPS Handa Premiership title. Having finished in 3rd in the regular season, they beat Hawke's Bay United in the semi-final, before beating Auckland City 4–2 in an enthralling finale at QBE Stadium in Albany, Auckland.[4]
Team Wellington FC won back to back league titles in April 2017, dispatching Waitakere United on penalties after an enthralling 6–6 draw in the semi-final, before beating Auckland City 2–1 in the Grand Final at QBE Stadium.[4]
Team Wellington FC proved their worth in the 2017-2018 OFC Champions League by winning their way to the very nail-biting semi-final against Auckland that, despite ending in a 2–2 draw, Team Wellington FC won due to aggregate score. The game was viewed as extremely controversial as the referee added 8 minutes of extra time to the end of the game. This 8 minutes turned into 12 extra minutes (total game time was 101 minutes) and caused much aggravation from both sides before the referee blew the final whistle.[6] After this, Team Wellington faced Lautoka FC in two final legs; one at home at David Farrington Park on 13 May 2018, the other at Lautoka FC's home ground of Churchill Park in Fiji on 20 May 2018[7][circular reference].
Team Wellington FC won the first leg in a staggering 6–0 victory. The second leg was also won by Team Wellington FC, with a score of 3–4 to Team Wellington FC[8][circular reference]. This gave Team Wellington FC the title of Oceanic Champions and earned them entry to the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup to be held in the UAE in December 2018[9][circular reference].
On 12 December 2018, Team Wellington FC played their first and only match in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup against Al Ain FC, who would later be runners-up, scoring 3 goals in the first half. However, their lead was short-lived, with Al Ain scoring 3 goals and sending the match into extra time and then penalties. Team Wellington would lose the penalties 4–3 and were knocked out.[10]
Team Wellington would win the last ever game played in the ISPS Handa Premiership, when they beat long time rivals, Auckland City 2–1 in the 2020–2021 Grand Final.[2]
Constituent clubs
Team Wellington FC represents 20 clubs in the Greater Wellington region.
Team Wellington play all their home games (TV permitting) at David Farrington Park in Miramar.[11] The ground is typical of the type of stadium found in New Zealand. There is one uncovered grandstand on the west side of the ground which can accommodate around 600 spectators. A small hill in the north-west corner and the rest of the terrace on the east side retreats a metre or so away from the playing surface. At the south end is Miramar School, while the clubhouse resides at the north end.[12]
Previously Team Wellington played all home matches at Newtown Park which has a capacity of 5,000. In 2008, a training pitch was developed next to the playing field which is used by local A-League franchise, the Wellington Phoenix.[13]
The New Zealand Football Championship was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a myriad of short-lived football leagues in the country, including the National Soccer League, the National Summer Soccer League and the New Zealand Superclub League. The league was contested by ten teams in a franchise system. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ISPS Handa Men's Premiership. From the 2021 season, it was replaced by the New Zealand National League.
Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in both New Zealand and Oceania, having won nine New Zealand Football Championship titles and twelve OFC Champions League titles since their foundation.
Roy Christopher Krishna is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Indian Super League club Odisha and captains the Fiji national team. He is the most-capped and highest-scoring Fijian footballer of all time. In 2022, he became the first player to reach 50 caps for the Fiji national team.
Logan Tipene Rogerson is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a winger for A-League club Auckland FC and the New Zealand national football team.
Des Buckingham is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Oxford United.
The 2017 OFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2017 OFC Champions League, the 16th edition of the Oceania Cup, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 11th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
David Farrington Park, previously known as Centennial Park, is a football ground in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for football matches and is the home ground of both Team Wellington and Miramar Rangers AFC.
The 2018 OFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2018 OFC Champions League, the 17th edition of the Oceania Cup, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 12th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The 2017–18 New Zealand Football Championship season was the fourteenth season of the NZFC since its establishment in 2004. Ten teams competed in the competition with Team Wellington and Auckland City representing the ISPS Handa Premiership in the 2018 OFC Champions League after finishing Champions and Premiers respectively in the 2016–17 competition.
Liberato Gianpaolo Cacace is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Serie A club Empoli and the New Zealand national team.
Sam Harry Sutton is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left-back for A-League Men club Wellington Phoenix.
Benjamin Peter Waine is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One side Mansfield Town, on loan from EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle and the New Zealand national team.
José Manuel Figueira is an English football coach of Spanish descent, who is the current manager of Northern League club Auckland United. Figueira previously held notable roles as the head coach of Team Wellington, assistant coach of the New Zealand national team, and head coach of the New Zealand under-17 national team.
Callum William McCowatt is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Danish Superliga club Silkeborg IF.
The 2019–20 New Zealand Football Championship season was the sixteenth season of the NZFC since its establishment, in 2004. Ten teams compete in the competition with Eastern Suburbs and Auckland City representing the ISPS Handa Premiership in the 2020 OFC Champions League after finishing Champions and Premiers respectively in the 2018–19 competition.
Nando Zen Pijnaker is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a centre back for A-League club Auckland FC and the New Zealand national football team.
The 2020–21 New Zealand Football Championship season was the seventeenth and final season of the NZFC since its establishment in 2004. Eight teams compete in the competition with Auckland City and Team Wellington representing the ISPS Handa Men's Premiership in the 2021 OFC Champions League after Auckland City finished Premiers, with Team Wellington finishing regular season runners-up in the 2019–20 competition, after the remainder of the competition was cancelled mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. The change from ten teams to eight teams was due to Tasman United and Southern United joining Canterbury United to form a united South Island team, playing under the Canterbury United name. Auckland City won the league with a game in hand, taking top spot for their 12th premiership.
Benjamin Craig Old is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne and the New Zealand national team.
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