New Zealand football league system explained

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

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]

width=4%	Level	League(s)/division(s)
1	New Zealand National League 10 clubs
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										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 NRFL Southern Conference 8 clubs – 0–1 promotions, 1–2 relegations										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 One10 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										—										—

Women's structure

Sources^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}

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		—	—	—
9	NRF Central Division 5 – 7 clubs		—	—	—

Notes and References

1. Web site: The National League System . . 26 June 2021.
2. Web site: New National League competition details confirmed . . 17 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210317013353/https://www.nzfootball.co.nz/newsarticle/100552 . 17 March 2021 . 26 February 2021.
3. Web site: 2021 NRFL Review. Northern Region Football.
4. Web site: Waikato Bay of Plenty Football, Regulations 2021 . WaiBOP Football Federation . 26 June 2021.
5. Web site: Northern Region Football Playing Regulations . . 26 June 2021.
6. Web site: Community Senior Men. Northern Region Football.
7. Web site: 2021. Capital Football Federation Football Playing Regulations. Capital Football.
8. Web site: 2021. Northern Regional Football League Regulations. Northern Region Football.
9. Web site: Football South - Fixtures & Results. 2021-07-15. Football South.
10. Web site: Southland Football - Senior Fixtures/Results/Table. 15 July 2021. Football South.
11. Web site: WaiBOP Football Federation - Fixtures & Results. 15 July 2021. WaiBOP Football Federation.
12. Web site: Mainland Football - Football Fixtures & Results. 15 July 2021. Mainland Football.
13. Web site: Football Fixtures - Home. 15 July 2021. Central Football.
14. Web site: NO. 4 DISTRICT FEDERATION OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL SENIOR COMPETITION REGULATIONS. Central Football.