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, entering its inaugural season in 2021.^[2]

The top 4 Divisions of the Northern Region Football leagues for both men and women (Tiers 2–5) will be 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

Detailed layout of 2022 New Zealand Football League System

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, 2–3 relegations		Central League 10 clubs – 3 qualifications, 1 relegation		Southern League 10 clubs – 2 qualifications, 1 relegation
3	NRFL Championship 12 clubs – 1–2 promotions, 2 relegations^[b]		Central Federation League 9 clubs – 0–1 promotions	Capital Premier 10 clubs – 0–1 promotions	Canterbury Premiership League 10 clubs – 0–1 promotions	Southern Premiership 10 clubs – 0–1 promotions
4	NRFL Northern Conference 8 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 1–3 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	South Canterbury Division 1 – 6 clubs Otago Division 1 – 8 clubs Southland Division 1 – 5 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	Mainland Division 1 – 10 clubs Marlborough Division 1 – 5 clubs Nelson Division 1 – 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	Mainland Division 2 – 10 clubs Marlborough Division 2 – 8 clubs Nelson Division 2 – 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	Mainland Division 3 – 8 clubs Nelson Division 3 – 6 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		Mainland Division 4 – 8 clubs Nelson 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		Mainland Division 5 – 8 clubs
10	NRF Division 5 – 12 clubs		Wellington 3 – 10 clubs		Mainland 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		Mainland 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		Mainland Division 8 – 7 clubs
13	NRF Harbour Division 8 – 10 clubs NRF Central Division 8 – 9 clubs NRF South Division 8 – 10 clubs		—		Mainland Division 9 – 7 clubs
14	NRF Harbour Division 9 – 10 clubs NRF Central Division 9 – 10 clubs NRF South Division 9 – 8 clubs		—		Mainland Division 10 – 7 clubs
15	NRF Harbour Division 10 – 9 clubs NRF Central Division 10 – 9 clubs		—		—

Notes

^ 9 clubs qualify from regional leagues to join the Wellington Phoenix Reserves, who automatically qualify.^[2]
^ ^a ^b ^c Promotion and relegation is dependent on regulations that only allow one team per club in the top grades^[4]^[5]^[7]

Women's structure

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

Level	League(s)/division(s)
1	New Zealand Women's National League 8 clubs
2	NRFL Women's Premiership 8 clubs – 4 qualifications, 1 relegation		Capital W-League 7 clubs – 1 relegation		Mainland Women's Premier League 4 clubs	Women's Southern Premier League 7 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 Championship League 1 – 11 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
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 Championship League 2 – 6 clubs Otago Division Two – 8 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	—
6	NRF Northland Women's Division 2 – 6 clubs NRF Women's Division 2 – 10 clubs 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		—	—	—
8	NRF Central Division 5 – 7 clubs		—	—	—

References

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

[fn1-7] 9 clubs qualify from regional leagues to join the Wellington Phoenix Reserves, who automatically qualify.^[2]

[fn2-9] Promotion and relegation is dependent on regulations that only allow one team per club in the top grades^[4]^[5]^[7]

[league-1] "The National League System". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

[NLChampionship-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.

[WaiBOPregs-4] "Waikato Bay of Plenty Football, Regulations 2021". WaiBOP Football Federation. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

[NRFregs-5] "Northern Region Football Playing Regulations". Northern Region Football. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

[6] "Community Senior Men". Northern Region Football.

[capregs-8] "Capital Football Federation Football Playing Regulations". Capital Football. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

[10] "Capital Football Federation Football Playing Regulations". Capital Football. 2021.

[11] "Northern Regional Football League Regulations". Northern Region Football. 2021.

[12] "Football South - Fixtures & Results". Football South. Retrieved 2021-07-15.

[13] "Southland Football - Senior Fixtures/Results/Table". Football South. Retrieved 15 July 2021.

[14] "WaiBOP Football Federation - Fixtures & Results". WaiBOP Football Federation. Retrieved 15 July 2021.

[15] "Mainland Football - Football Fixtures & Results". Mainland Football. Retrieved 15 July 2021.

[16] "Football Fixtures - Home". Central Football. Retrieved 15 July 2021.

[17] "NO. 4 DISTRICT FEDERATION OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL SENIOR COMPETITION REGULATIONS". Central Football.

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v t e Sport in New Zealand
Team sports	Association football Australian rules football Baseball Basketball Cricket Netball Rugby league Rugby union
Individual sports	Cycling Horse racing (Thoroughbred and Harness) Motor sport Professional boxing Skiing
International competitions	Olympics Paralympics Deaflympics Commonwealth Games Cricket World Cup FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA World Cup Rugby World Cup
Sportspeople

v t e Top-level football leagues of Oceania (OFC)
Current	American Samoa Cook Islands Fiji Kiribati^† New Caledonia New Zealand Niue^† Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tahiti Tonga Tuvalu^† Vanuatu (Port Vila, rest of country)
Non-recognized	Palau
^† Associated members

v t e Football in Oceania
Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue
Dependencies and other territories	American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna

v t e New Zealand National Soccer Leagues
National Soccer League	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992
Superclub League	1993 1994 1995
National Summer Soccer League	1996 1996–97 1997–98
New Zealand Island Soccer Leagues	1999
New Zealand National Soccer League	2000 2001 2002 2003
New Zealand Football Championship	2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21
New Zealand National League	2021 2022 2023 2024