New Zealand Football Championship

New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC)
Country New Zealand New Zealand
Confederation OFC (Oceania)
Founded 2004
Number of teams 9
Level on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) White Ribbon Cup
International cup(s) OFC Champions League
Current champions Auckland City FC (6th title)
(2014–15)
Current premiers Auckland City FC (6th title)
Most championships Auckland City FC (6 titles)
Most premierships Auckland City FC (6 titles)
TV partners Sky Sports (Playoffs only)
Sommet Sports
(Waitakere United home fixtures only)
Website
2014–15 ASB Premiership

The New Zealand Football Championship (known as the ASB Premiership from 2011 for sponsorship reasons) is the national association football league in New Zealand. It is a semi professional association football (soccer) sports franchise league that is operated by New Zealand Football. The league is run separately from various Winter regional club competitions, and many of the teams competing are franchises jointly run by Winter clubs. It is currently sponsored by ASB Bank.

Competition format

There are currently nine teams, with each club playing the others twice. Due to the uneven number of clubs, each team has two byes in the season. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams progress to the playoffs. The playoffs are run as a home-and-away semi-finals series, with the winners progressing to a one-match Grand Final.

For the first four seasons, regular season had the teams play each other three times, however, this was changed to the present 14-match system in 2008, due to financial difficulties affecting some of the clubs.

The playoff phase in the inaugural season was contested by the top three clubs, whereby the Minor Premier (winner of league phase) received a bye and hosting rights for the grand final, with second and third placed teams playing off in a one-game preliminary final. The NZFC experimented with a five team playoff (see NZFC 2005-06) in the 2005-06 season, however, this was discontinued and the league reverted to the three-team playoff system for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

The two teams that win the league phase (the "Minor Premier") and the Grand Final (the "champion") qualify for the OFC Champions League. Should the same team win both the Minor Premiership and the Championship, the second Champions League spot is granted to the league runner-up. This has occurred on numerous occasions; the first instance being in 2006 when Auckland City (premiers and champions) and YoungHeart Manawatu qualified despite Canterbury United contesting the Grand Final.

There are no lower divisions in the Premiership, thus no promotion and relegation exists, similar to leagues in Australia and in the United States.

History

Establishment in 2004 to present

The New Zealand Football Championship was created as a replacement to the former New Zealand National Soccer League, a tournament involving clubs from the regional governing bodies of New Zealand Football. The NZFC was to be run as a summer league involving new clubs created solely for the new competition, with these new clubs being run jointly by existing winter clubs. The only exception to this was Napier City Rovers, whose summer club would be rebranded Hawke's Bay United during the second season, to be operated jointly by other clubs in the Hawke's Bay region.

Eleven groups bid for franchises, with the successful bids being announced on 7 April 2004 as Auckland City FC, Canterbury United, Napier City Rovers, Otago United, Team Wellington, Waikato FC, Waitakere United and YoungHeart Manawatu, with Olé Madrids, East Auckland and Team Bay of Plenty being excluded. Unhappy at their exclusion, the Olé Madrids bid team took New Zealand Soccer to court, suing for damages and demanding inclusion in the competition, claiming that, whilst they met NZ Soccer's criteria for inclusion, other successful bids did not. The case was dropped by the Madrids team eight days before the commencement of the first NZFC season.[1] Western Suburbs, the club associated with the Olé Academy, is now a principal member of the Team Wellington franchise.[2] East Auckland also considered legal action, however this was not pursued.[3]

The first match of the competition was on 15 October 2004, with Auckland City defeating Napier City Rovers 3-1 at Park Island, Napier. Auckland City were also crowned the inaugural NZFC champions after defeating Waitakere United 3-2 in the final.

The second season saw Napier City Rovers rebrand and re-organize their NZFC team as Hawke's Bay United, forming an amalgamated franchise with other local clubs. It also saw the first instance of a NZFC team winning the O-League, with Auckland City FC defeating French Polynesian team AS Pirae 3-1.

At the conclusion of the 2006-07 season, New Zealand Football granted three-season license extensions to seven of the eight franchises - all but YoungHeart Manawatu, who had to re-apply due to concerns over the club's financial and organisational situation. However, YoungHeart eventually earned reinstatement after beating out four rival bids - one based in Gisborne, one from North Shore City, and two from Manukau. Olé Madrids also applied for the license, however they withdrew early.[4]

On 2 September 2010, New Zealand Football announced a five-year sponsorship agreement with ASB Bank resulting in the rebranding of the New Zealand Football Championship to the ASB Premiership.[5]

In 2013, after a review of the competition by the ASB Premiership review committee, YoungHeart Manawatu was dropped from the competition after finishing last in the previous three seasons. New Zealand Football also confirmed that a team composed of New Zealand players born on or after 1 January, 1995 would take Manawatu's place in the Premiership for at least two seasons. The addition of the team - to be known as Wanderers SC - was to provide adequate preparation for New Zealand's U-20 players for the upcoming 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be hosted by New Zealand.[6] Much confusion surrounded the initials "SC" in the Wanderers' name, as no official explanation was given as to what they stood for. It wasn't until after their first match that coach Darren Bazeley finally revealed that "SC" stood for "Special Club", saying "it acknowledges this team has arisen out of a special situation and was specially formed for the purpose."[7]

The 2014-15 season saw the Premiership expand to nine teams for the first time in its history. Wellington Phoenix Reserves was added to the competition to provide game time for the members of the Phoenix squad who are not playing frequently for the first team in the A-League. Restrictions were also put in place for all clubs requiring that at least 50% of match day squads are players who are eligible to play for the All Whites.[8]

After 11 full seasons, only Auckland City FC and Waitakere United have been crowned Premiers or Champions, with Auckland City adding their sixth premiership and sixth title in the 2014-15 season.

Clubs

There are currently nine clubs from New Zealand playing in the 2014–15 ASB Premiership. Unlike most European leagues, there is no system for promotion and relegation. This system is similar to leagues in Australia and in the United States.

Canterbury

Hawke's Bay
WaiBOP
Southern United

Current clubs

Team City, Region Stadium Joined Head Coach
Auckland City FC Auckland, Auckland Region Kiwitea Street 2004 Spain Ramon Tribulietx
Canterbury United Christchurch, Canterbury Region ASB Football Park 2004 Republic of Ireland Sean Devine
Hawke's Bay United Napier, Hawke's Bay region Bluewater Stadium 2004 England Brett Angell[9]
Southern United Dunedin, Otago Region Forsyth Barr Stadium 2004 Scotland Mike Fridge[10]
Team Wellington Wellington, Wellington Region David Farrington Park 2004 New Zealand Matt Calcott
WaiBOP United Cambridge, Waikato Region John Kerkhof Park 2004 Scotland Peter Smith
Waitakere United Whenuapai, Auckland Region Fred Taylor Park 2004 Republic of Ireland Brian Shelley
Wanderers SC North Harbour, Auckland Region North Harbour Stadium 2013 England Darren Bazeley
Wellington Phoenix Reserves Wellington, Wellington Region Newtown Park 2014 England Andy Hedge[11]

Former clubs

Team City, Region Joined Left
YoungHeart Manawatu Palmerston North, Manawatu-Wanganui 2004 2013

Name changes

Champions and premiers

The teams that win the league phase (the "premier") and the Grand Final (the "champion") qualify for the OFC Champions League. Should the same team win both the Premiership and the Championship, the second O-League spot will be granted to league runner-up.

Season Regular Season Grand Final
Premiers Points Runners-up Champions Score Runners-up
2004–05 Auckland City FC 46 – 40 Waitakere United Auckland City FC 3 – 2 Waitakere United
2005–06 Auckland City FC 48 – 46 YoungHeart Manawatu Auckland City FC 3 – 3 (a.e.t.)
4 – 3 (p.s.o)		 Canterbury United
2006–07 Waitakere United 47 – 45 YoungHeart Manawatu Auckland City FC 3 – 2 Waitakere United
2007–08 Waitakere United 51 – 50 Auckland City FC Waitakere United 2 – 0 Team Wellington
2008–09 Waitakere United 33 – 25 Auckland City FC Auckland City FC 2 – 1 Waitakere United
2009–10 Auckland City FC 31 – 29 Waitakere United Waitakere United 3 – 1 Canterbury United
2010–11 Waitakere United 36 – 30 Auckland City FC Waitakere United 3 – 2 Auckland City FC
2011–12 Auckland City FC 36 – 29 Canterbury United Waitakere United 4 – 1 Team Wellington
2012–13 Waitakere United 37 – 33 Auckland City FC Waitakere United 4 – 3 (a.e.t.) Auckland City FC
2013–14 Auckland City FC 33 – 26 Team Wellington Auckland City FC 1 – 0 Team Wellington
2014–15 Auckland City FC 42 – 30 Team Wellington Auckland City FC 2 – 1 Hawke's Bay United

Premiership Winners

Team Titles Runners up Years
Auckland City FC
6
4
 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014-15
Waitakere United
5
2
 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
YoungHeart Manawatu
2
Team Wellington
2
Canterbury United
1

Championship Winners

Team Titles Runners up Years
Auckland City FC
6
2
 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2014-15
Waitakere United
5
3
 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
Team Wellington
3
Canterbury United
2
Hawke's Bay United
1

Awards

Golden Boot

The Golden Boot is presented to the player who scores the most goals during the season.

Year Player Club Goals
2007–08 New Zealand Graham Little Team Wellington 12
2008–09 Costa Rica Luis Corrales Team Wellington 12
2009–10 Vanuatu Seule Soromon YoungHeart Manawatu 9
2010–11 New Zealand Allan Pearce Waitakere United 13
2011–12 Papua New Guinea George Slefendorfas Canterbury United 12
2012–13 Fiji Roy Krishna Waitakere United 12
2013–14 Argentina Emiliano Tade Auckland City FC 12

Records and statistics

All-time NZFC ladders

regular season matches

As of end of Round 2, 2014-15 season

Club SP Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Avg. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Auckland City FC 11 171 118 29 24 433 181 +252 383 2.240 541-
Canterbury United 11 170 70 29 71 272 253 +19 239 1.406 -124
Hawke's Bay United¹11 170 57 31 82 264 348 –84 202 1.188 ---1
Southern United² 11 170 36 32 102 181 379 –198 140 0.824 ----
Team Wellington 11 170 80 29 61 345290+55 269 1.582 --35
WaiBOP United³ 11 169 45 28 96 219 356 –137 163 0.964 --1-
Waitakere United 11 170 109 21 40 400 194 +2063482.047 521-
Wanderers SC 2 16 1 2 13 21 45 –245 0.313 ----
Wellington Phoenix 1 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 3 1.500 ----
YoungHeart Manawatu 9 154 51 25 78 253 344 –91 178 1.156 -21-
¹ Includes record as Napier City Rovers
² Includes record as Otago United
³ Includes record as Waikato FC

Finals matches

As of the conclusion of the 2013–14 season

Club SP Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Avg. 1st 2nd 3rd
Auckland City FC 10 22 14 1 7 53 35 +18 43 1.955 5 2 1
Waitakere United 9 21 13 08 57 39 +18 39 1.857 5 3 -
Team Wellington 7 17 7 1 9 23 35 –12 22 1.294 - 3 2
Canterbury United 5 13 4 2 7 18 28 –10 14 1.077 - 2 3
Southern United² 1 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 1.000 - - -
YoungHeart Manawatu 3 5 1 1 3 6 10 –4 4 0.800 - - 2
WaiBOP United³ 1 1 0 0 1 1 4 –3 0 0.000 - - 1
Hawke's Bay United¹ 2 4 0 0 4 6 13 –7 0 0.000 - - 1
¹ Includes record as Napier City Rovers
² Includes record as Otago United
³ Includes record as Waikato FC

Largest victories

Season Home team Result Away team Date
2013–14 Southern United 0 – 10 Auckland City FC16 February 2013
2006–07 Waitakere United 8 – 0 Southern United8 March 2007
2007–08 YoungHeart Manawatu 0 – 8 Team Wellington 6 January 2008
2007–08 Canterbury United 1 – 9 Waitakere United20 January 2008
2011–12 Canterbury United 9 – 1 YoungHeart Manawatu 22 January 2012
2012–13 Waikato FC 1 – 9 Waitakere United20 January 2013
2005–06 YoungHeart Manawatu 8 – 1 Hawke's Bay United18 February 2006
2006–07 Team Wellington 7 – 0 Hawke's Bay United26 January 2007
2011–12 Canterbury United 7 – 0 Hawke's Bay United4 February 2012

Highest scoring matches

Season Home team Result Away team Date
2005–06 Team Wellington 4 – 6 Auckland City FC 7 January 2006
2007–08 Canterbury United 1 – 9 Waitakere United 20 January 2008
2011–12 Canterbury United 9 – 1 YoungHeart Manawatu 22 January 2012
2012–13 Waikato FC 1 – 9 Waitakere United20 January 2013
2012–13 Waitakere United 6 – 4 Hawke's Bay United9 March 2013
2013–14 Southern United 0 - 10 Auckland City FC16 February 2013
2005–06 YoungHeart Manawatu 8 – 1 Hawke's Bay United18 February 2006
2007–08 Waikato FC 4 – 5 YoungHeart Manawatu30 March 2008
2011–12 YoungHeart Manawatu 2 – 7 Waitakere United 15 January 2012

Related competitions

ASB Phoenix Challenge

Main article: ASB Phoenix Challenge

The 2010-11 season saw the introduction of the ASB Challenge Series. This was an individual friendly competition in which the eight Premiership teams competed against a reserve team attached to Wellington Phoenix FC, a New Zealand based team playing in the Australian A-League. The ASB Phoenix Challenge was discontinued after the 2010-11 season but reinstated for 2012-2013.

ASB National Youth League

New Zealand Football also runs the Under-20 ASB National Youth League. The 2011/12 season consists of two four-team conferences (North and South) that play against each conference opponent twice (home and away), for six regular season games. At the conclusion of the youth league regular season, the top ranked Northern team hosts the second ranked Southern team, and the top ranked Southern team hosts the second ranked Northern team for the semi finals. The winners of these matches will face each other in the grand final. The current Youth League champion is Canterbury United, having defeated Waitakere United 2 - 1 after extra time at Bill McKinlay Park, Auckland[12] For the 2012-13 season the competition was expanded to 10 teams with the Nelson Falcons competing in the southern conference and Northern U17's connected to the New Zealand national team in the Northern conference.

Season Winner Score Runner-up
2007–08 Waitakere United 6 – 3 (AET) Canterbury United
2008–09 Auckland City 6 – 4 (AET) Waitakere United
2009–10 Canterbury United 6 – 0 Waitakere United
2010–11 Waitakere United 2 – 0 Canterbury United
2011–12 Canterbury United 2 – 1 (AET) Waitakere United
2012–13 Auckland City 3 – 0 Southern United

OFC Champions League

Main article: OFC Champions League

The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier football competition in Oceania. It is organized by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. It has been organized since 2007 under the current format, following its successor, the Oceania Club Championship. Two teams from the ASB Championship participate annually. Four O-League titles have been won by teams from New Zealand.

White Ribbon Cup

Main article: White Ribbon Cup

The White Ribbon Cup, is a knockout cup competition run by New Zealand Football. The 2011-12 season will be the inaugural season of the NZF Cup.

It was established in 2011 to provide regular football for the six clubs not participating in the Oceania Champions League and runs in conjunction with the ASB Premiership regular season.[13]

Season Winner Score Runner-up
2011–12 Team Wellington 6 – 1 Waikato FC

Referees

Referees are selected from around New Zealand and occasionally include guest referees from other nations, most notably Australia. Whilst the match referees may travel to games outside their home federation, assistant referees and fourth officials are from generally within the hosting federation.

Logos

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Black year for New Zealand after All Whites loss". Access My Library. 29 December 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  2. ↑ Brown, Michael (14 February 2005). "National service". Official Team Wellington Website. Herald on Sunday. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "New soccer franchises revealed". TVNZ. 6 April 2004. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "Five chase NZFC licence vacancy". Sports Web. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "NZF signs its biggest sponsorship deal". Stuff.co.nz. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Manawatu dumped from ASB Premiership". TVNZ. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. ↑ Holloway, Bruce (18 November 2013). "Making sense of the Wanderers SC name". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Expanded ASB Premiership confirmed". The New Zealand Herald. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Brett Angell appointed Head Coach of Hawke’s Bay". Hawke's Bay United Football. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  10. ↑ Hepburn, Steve (20 June 2014). "Fridge coaching Southern United". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Hedge appointed coach of the reserve side". Wellington Phoenix FC. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  12. ↑ http://www.nzfc.co.nz/index.php?id=14
  13. ↑ Hallett, David (30 November 2011). "Canterbury United's Kamo unlikely for first round". The Press. Retrieved 2011-11-30.

External links