New Zealand Football Championship

New Zealand Football Championship
Founded 2004
Country New Zealand New Zealand
Confederation OFC (Oceania)
Number of teams 10
Level on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) White Ribbon Cup
International cup(s) OFC Champions League
Current champions Team Wellington (2nd title)
(2016–17)
Current premiers Auckland City (8th title)
Most championships Auckland City (6 titles)
Most premierships Auckland City (8 titles)
TV partners Sky Sports
Website Official page
2016–17 Stirling Sports Premiership

The New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC, known as the Stirling Sports Premiership from 2016 for sponsorship reasons) is the top association football division in New Zealand. It is a professional/semi-professional 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 Stirling Sports. From the 2017-18 season onwards, the league will be renamed the ISPS Handa Premiership.

Competition format

There are two stages to the competition; "The League" (commonly referred to as "regular season") and "The Championship" (commonly referred to as "the playoffs").[1]

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 Young Heart 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.

The League

For the first four seasons, regular season had the teams play each other three times, however, this was changed to the present home-and-away system in 2008, due to financial difficulties affecting some of the clubs. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams progress to the playoffs.

The Championship

The playoffs are run as a home-and-away semi-finals series, with the winners progressing to a one-match Grand Final.

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 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.

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, Canterbury United, Napier City Rovers, Otago United, Team Wellington FC, 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.[2] Western Suburbs, the club associated with the Olé Academy, is now a principal member of the Team Wellington franchise.[3] East Auckland also considered legal action, however this was not pursued.[4]

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 licence 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 licence, however they withdrew early.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7] 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."[8]

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.[9]

After 11 full seasons, only Auckland City and Waitakere United have been crowned Premiers or Champions, with Auckland City adding their sixth premiership and sixth title in the 2014–15 season. This trend was bucked, however, in the twelfth season of the competition, as Team Wellington FC defeated Auckland City 4-2 aet in the final.[10]

2016 Expansion

In December 2015 it was announced that the league would be expanding to 10 teams for the 2016–17 season with Eastern Suburbs from Auckland, Hamilton Wanderers from Hamilton, and Tasman United from Nelson joining the league, while WaiBop United will exit the competition.[11]

In September 2016 it was announced that the expanded league would be re-branded as the Stirling Sports Premiership.[12]

Clubs

There are currently ten clubs from New Zealand playing in the 2016–17 Stirling Sports 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.

Current clubs

Team City, Region Stadium Joined Head Coach
Auckland City Auckland, Auckland Kiwitea Street 2004 Spain Ramon Tribulietx
Canterbury United Christchurch, Canterbury ASB Football Park 2004 New Zealand Willy Gerdsen
Eastern Suburbs Auckland, Auckland Ngahue Reserve 2016 Scotland Malcolm McPherson[13]
Hamilton Wanderers Hamilton, Waikato Porritt Stadium/
Waikato Stadium		 2016 New Zealand Ricki Herbert[14]
Hawke's Bay United Napier, Hawke's Bay Bluewater Stadium 2005 England Brett Angell[15]
Southern United Dunedin, Otago Forsyth Barr Stadium 2004 Republic of Ireland Paul O'Reilly[16]
Tasman United Nelson, Nelson Trafalgar Park 2016 England Richard Anderson[17]
Team Wellington FC Wellington, Wellington David Farrington Park 2004 England José Manuel Figueira
Waitakere United Whenuapai, Auckland Fred Taylor Park 2004 New Zealand Chris Milicich[18]
Wellington Phoenix Reserves Wellington, Wellington Newtown Park 2014 England Andy Hedge[19]

Former clubs

Team City, Region Joined Left
YoungHeart Manawatu Palmerston North, Manawatu-Wanganui 2004 2013
Wanderers SC North Harbour, Auckland Region 2013 2015
WaiBOP United Cambridge, Waikato 2004 2016

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 46 – 40 Waitakere United Auckland City 3 – 2 Waitakere United
2005–06 Auckland City 48 – 46 YoungHeart Manawatu Auckland City 3 – 3 (a.e.t.)
4 – 3 (p.s.o)		 Canterbury United
2006–07 Waitakere United 47 – 45 YoungHeart Manawatu Auckland City 3 – 2 Waitakere United
2007–08 Waitakere United 51 – 50 Auckland City Waitakere United 2 – 0 Team Wellington FC
2008–09 Waitakere United 33 – 25 Auckland City Auckland City 2 – 1 Waitakere United
2009–10 Auckland City 31 – 29 Waitakere United Waitakere United 3 – 1 Canterbury United
2010–11 Waitakere United 36 – 30 Auckland City Waitakere United 3 – 2 Auckland City
2011–12 Auckland City 36 – 29 Canterbury United Waitakere United 4 – 1 Team Wellington FC
2012–13 Waitakere United 37 – 33 Auckland City Waitakere United 4 – 3 (a.e.t.) Auckland City
2013–14 Auckland City 33 – 26 Team Wellington FC Auckland City 1 – 0 Team Wellington FC
2014–15 Auckland City 42 – 30 Team Wellington FC Auckland City 2 – 1 Hawke's Bay United
2015–16 Auckland City 38 – 30 Hawke's Bay United Team Wellington FC 4 – 2 (a.e.t.) Auckland City
2016–17 Auckland City 36 – 36 Team Wellington FC Team Wellington FC 2 – 1 Auckland City

Premiership Winners

Team Titles Runners-up Years
Auckland City
8
4
 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
Waitakere United
5
2
 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13
Team Wellington FC
–
3
YoungHeart Manawatu
–
2
Canterbury United
–
1
Hawke's Bay United
–
1

Championship Winners

Team Titles Runners-up Years
Auckland City
6
4
 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 FC
2
3
 2015–16, 2016–17
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 FC 12
2008–09 Costa Rica Luis Corrales Team Wellington FC 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 12
2014–15 New Zealand Tyler Boyd
New Zealand Tom Jackson
New Zealand Sean Lovemore		 Wellington Phoenix
Southern United
Hawke's Bay United		 10
2015–16 New Zealand Ryan De Vries Auckland City 15

Team of the Decade Awards

In 2014, to celebrate the first 10 years of the league under the franchise format (2004-05 to 2013-14), New Zealand Football announced an official Team of the Decade and five individual player awards. [20][21]

Team of the Decade

Prior to the ASB Premiership Grand Final in 2014, the Team of the Decade was announced, as selected by a panel of media experts.[21] The team was selected in a 4-3-3 formation.

Position Player Club(s)
Goalkeeper England Danny Robinson Waikato, Waitakere United
Defenders New Zealand James Pritchett Auckland City
New Zealand Ivan Vicelich Auckland City
New Zealand Danny Hay Waitakere United
New Zealand Ian Hogg Hawke's Bay United, Waitakere United, Auckland City
Midfielders Wales Chris Bale Waitakere United, Team Wellington FC, Auckland City
New Zealand Aaron Clapham Canterbury United
Spain Albert Riera Auckland City
Strikers South Africa Keryn Jordan Waitakere United, Auckland City
Fiji Roy Krishna Waitakere United, Auckland City
Solomon Islands Benjamin Totori YoungHeart Manawatu, Waitakere United
Substitutes New Zealand Ross Nicholson (RGK) Auckland City, YoungHeart Manawatu
New Zealand Ben Sigmund Canterbury United, Auckland City
New Zealand Jake Butler Waitakere United
New Zealand Allan Pearce Waitakere United
South Africa Grant Young Hawke's Bay United, Waitakere United, Auckland City
Coach England Alan Jones Auckland City

Players of the Decade

Throughout the 2013-14 national league season, four Player of the Decade awards (based on playing position) were announced and prior to the 2014 Grand Final an overall Player of the Decade was announced. These awards were decided by a panel of media experts with input from fans via a public vote.[20]

Award Player Club(s)
Player of the Decade[21] South Africa Keryn Jordan Waitakere United, Auckland City
Goalkeeper of the Decade[22] England Danny Robinson Waikato, Waitakere United
Defender of the Decade[23] New Zealand Ivan Vicelich Auckland City
Midfielder of the Decade[24] New Zealand Aaron Clapham Canterbury United
Striker of the Decade[25] Fiji Roy Krishna Waitakere United, Auckland City

Records and statistics

All-time NZFC ladders

Regular season matches

As of end of 2016–17 season

Club SP Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Auckland City 13 216 152 34 30 543 220 +323 490 841-
Canterbury United 13 216 87 39 90 352 335 +17 300 -126
Eastern Suburbs 1 18 9 3 6 28 25 +3 30 ----
Hawke's Bay United¹13 216 84 38 94 369 418 −49 290 -123
Southern United² 13 216 42 34 140 231 498 −267 160 ----
Tasman United 1 18 4 5 9 29 42 −13 17 ----
Team Wellington 13 216 107 37 72 460 364 +96 358 -342
WaiBOP United³ 12 198 61 28 109 272 410 −138 211 --1-
Waitakere United 13 216 130 28 58 480 275 +205 418 5222
Wanderers SC 2 30 9 1 20 61 86 −2528 ----
Wellington Phoenix 3 48 12 8 28 68 101 –33 44 ----
YoungHeart Manawatu 9 154 51 25 78 253 344 −91 178 -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 2016–17 season

Club SP Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Avg. 1st 2nd 3rd
Auckland City 13 29 19 1 9 68 44 +24 58 2.000 6 4 1
Waitakere United 11 24 13 1 10 64 5 +12 40 1.667 5 3 2
Team Wellington 10 23 11 2 10 43 50 −7 35 1.522 2 3 2
Canterbury United 6 14 4 2 8 19 30 −11 14 1.000 - 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
Hawke's Bay United¹ 5 9 1 0 8 13 24 −11 3 0.333 - 1 2
WaiBOP United³ 1 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 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 City16 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 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 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 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 City16 February 2013
2005–06 YoungHeart Manawatu 8 – 1 Hawke's Bay United18 February 2006
2007–08 Waikato 4 – 5 YoungHeart Manawatu30 March 2008
2011–12 YoungHeart Manawatu 2 – 7 Waitakere United 15 January 2012

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 Stirling Sports Premiership participate annually. Four O-League titles have been won by teams from New Zealand.

ASB Charity Cup

The ASB Charity Cup was introduced in 2011 as a season opener played the weekend before the first matches of the ASB Premiership season.[26] The fixture pits the ASB Premiership Grand Final winner against the best performing New Zealand team in the OFC Champions League.[26] However, when the same team fills both categories as Auckland City did in 2014 and 2015 the ASB Premiership runner-up qualifies for Charity Cup.[27]

Year Winner Score Runner-up
2011 Auckland City 3 – 2 Waitakere United
2012 Waitakere United 2 – 1 Auckland City
2013 Auckland City 4 – 1 Waitakere United
2014 Team Wellington 2 – 2

(4 – 3 PSO)

 Auckland City
2015 Auckland City 3 – 0 Team Wellington

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.

National Youth League

New Zealand Football also runs the Under-20 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[28] 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

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 Stirling Sports Premiership regular season.[29]

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. ↑ "REGULATION 10: NATIONAL LEAGUE" (PDF). NZFootball.co.nz. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Black year for New Zealand after All Whites loss". Access My Library. 29 December 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "New soccer franchises revealed". TVNZ. 6 April 2004. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "Five chase NZFC licence vacancy". Sports Web. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "NZF signs its biggest sponsorship deal". Stuff.co.nz. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Manawatu dumped from ASB Premiership". TVNZ. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Holloway, Bruce (18 November 2013). "Making sense of the Wanderers SC name". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Expanded ASB Premiership confirmed". The New Zealand Herald. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "Team Wellington claim title". Stuff. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  11. ↑ "New trio to join ASB Premiership". New Zealand Football. 16 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Lift off for Stirling Sports Premiership". New Zealand Football. 26 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "McPherson named Suburbs coach". New Zealand Football. 7 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Voerman, Andrew (30 May 2017). "Hamilton Wanderers name Ricki Herbert as their new national league coach". Stuff.co.nz.
  15. ↑ "Brett Angell appointed Head Coach of Hawke’s Bay". Hawke's Bay United Football. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "O'Reilly takes charge of Southern". New Zealand Football. 21 June 2016.
  17. ↑ Rollo, Phillip (9 April 2016). "Richard Anderson revealed as Tasman United coach for national football league". Stuff.co.nz.
  18. ↑ France, Marvin (3 December 2015). "Chris Milicich back at Waitakere United and determined to salvage their season". Stuff.co.nz.
  19. ↑ "Hedge appointed coach of the reserve side". Wellington Phoenix FC. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  20. 1 2 "ASB Premiership Team of the Decade Competition". New Zealand Football. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 "Jordan named ASB Premiership Player of the Decade". nzherald.co.nz. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Panel picks ASB Premiership Goalkeeper of the Decade". New Zealand Football. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "Panel picks ASB Premiership Defender of the Decade". New Zealand Football. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "Panel picks ASB Premiership Midfielder of the Decade". New Zealand Football. 21 Jan 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "Panel picks ASB Premiership Striker of the Decade". New Zealand Football. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  26. 1 2 "Charity Cup clash for Auckland rivals". aucklandfootball.org.nz. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  27. ↑ "Grand Finalists meet in ASB Charity Cup". New Zealand Football. 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  28. ↑ http://www.nzfc.co.nz/index.php?id=14
  29. ↑ Hallett, David (30 November 2011). "Canterbury United's Kamo unlikely for first round". The Press. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
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