Northern League (New Zealand)

Northern League
Founded 1965
Country New Zealand
Confederation OFC (Oceania)
Number of teams 12
Level on pyramid 2
Feeder to National League
Relegation to NRFL Championship
Current champions Auckland City (3rd title)
(2023)
Most championships Bay Olympic
Takapuna AFC
Central United (4 titles)
TV partners FIFA+ (select games)
Website Northern Region Football
Current: 2023 Northern League

The Northern League is an amateur New Zealand association football competition. It is a top-tier competition during the winter season, and sits at step two overall.

The Northern League includes football clubs located in the northern part of the North Island from the Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. The competition was known as the NRFL Premier until 2021, when New Zealand's football league system was restructured. Clubs compete each season to qualify for the New Zealand National League.

History

See also: Association football in New Zealand

The first four years (1965–1969)

In the years 1965–1969, before the launch of a National Soccer League, the Northern League was the highest level competition available to the clubs in the northern region. When the National Soccer League was created in 1970, the Northern League became one of its feeder leagues.

In 1997 and 1998, when the National Soccer League operated as an invitation-only summer league, the Northern League again became the highest level club competition available to the clubs from the northern provinces.

Present day

With the demise of the club-based National Soccer League in 2004, the Northern League, now known as Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Men's Premier, became part of the highest level of football league competition in New Zealand for the third time in its history. The league runs between the New Zealand autumn and winter months (April to September), while the New Zealand Football Championship runs between the New Zealand spring and summer months (October to March).

Renaming and restructuring of leagues in the country

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 September and December.

Current Northern League structure

Sponsors

The following list is of the official sponsors of the League, unless otherwise noted.

Current

  • Kia Motors 2010–2012, (marketing partner)
  • Lotto Sport Italia 2008–2012, (primary sponsor)
  • ASB Bank 2010–2012, (marketing partner)
  • Prime (New Zealand) 2010–2012, (TV channel), (TV partner)
  • FTN – Family Television Network 2010–2012, (TV channel), (TV partner)
  • TVNZ 2010–2012,(TV channel), (official TV sponsor)
  • Sky Network Television 2009–present, (TV channel), (TV partner – For national & international broadcasting)

Current clubs

As of the 2024 season.

Team Location Home ground 2023 season
Auckland City Sandringham, Auckland Kiwitea Street 1st
Auckland United Mount Roskill, Auckland Keith Hay Park 3rd
Bay Olympic New Lynn, Auckland Olympic Park 10th
Birkenhead United Beach Haven, Auckland Shepherds Park 8th
East Coast Bays Northcross, Auckland Bay City Park 2nd in Championship (promoted)
Eastern Suburbs Kohimarama, Auckland Madills Farm 2nd
Hamilton Wanderers Chartwell, Hamilton Porritt Stadium 6th
Manurewa Manurewa, Auckland Memorial Park 4th
Melville United Melville, Hamilton Gower Park 9th
Tauranga City Mount Maunganui, Tauranga Links Avenue 1st in Championship (promoted)
West Coast Rangers Whenuapai, Auckland Fred Taylor Park 7th
Western Springs Westmere, Auckland Seddon Fields 5th

Past champions

Performance by club

Club Location Titles Last title
Takapuna City Takapuna 4 1988
Bay Olympic New Lynn 4 2011
Central United Auckland 4 2016
Hamilton Wanderers Hamilton 3 1984
Mount Wellington Auckland 3 1997
East Coast Bays North Shore 3 2013
Glenfield Rovers Glenfield 3 2014
Eastern Suburbs Kohimarama 3 2015
North Shore United North Shore 3 2019
Auckland City Sandringham 3 2023
Papatoetoe Papatoetoe 2 1991
Mount Maunganui Tauranga 2 1994
Tauranga City Tauranga 2 2000
Melville United Melville 2 2009

Notable players

This list consists of past or present notable players that have either represented an international team, or made more than fifty appearances at a professional level in their careers.

Top scorers

The following list is from the 2021 season onwards after New Zealand Football changed the football league system in New Zealand. From 2021, the Northern League has acted as a qualifier league to the National League.

Season Top scorer(s) Club(s) Goals
2021 Alex Greive Birkenhead United 19
2022 Derek Tieku Hamilton Wanderers 17
2023 Ryan de Vries
Derek Tieku 		Auckland City
Hamilton Wanderers 		19

Records

The following records are from the 2021 season onwards after New Zealand Football changed the football league system in New Zealand. From 2021, the Northern League has acted as a qualifier league to the National League. The records are up to date as of the end of the 2023 season.

MVP Winners

Season Winner(s) Club(s)
2021 Alex Greive Birkenhead United
2022 Derek Tieku Hamilton Wanderers
2023 Derek Tieku Hamilton Wanderers