The Wellington Phoenix is managed under New Zealand Football itself rather than one of the federations. Auckland and Wellington Phoenix are the only professional football club in New Zealand,[1][2][3][4] with both of them playing in the Australian A-League.[5][6][7]
The New Zealand National League is the top men's football league in the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2021, the New Zealand National League is the successor to the New Zealand Football Championship. The league will be contested by ten teams, with teams qualifying from their regional leagues. Four teams will qualify from the Northern League, three qualify from the Central League, two qualify from the newly formed Southern League and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are given an automatic spot each year.[8][9][10]
The regional leagues runs from March through to September, with varying number of games in each region. The Championship phase runs after the completion of the regional leagues with each team playing each other once, followed by a grand final. Each season, two clubs gain qualification to the OFC Champions League, the continental competition for the Oceania region.
Regional competition
Premier winter club competitions is divided into three regional leagues:
The Northern League, consisting of teams from Federations One (Northland, Auckland) and Two (Waikato/Bay of Plenty)
The Central League, consisting of teams from Federations Three (Central North Island) and Four (Greater Wellington)
The Southern League, consisting of teams from Federation Five and Federation Six
The Capital Football W-League, is a Women's Football league consisting of teams from Federations Four (Central North Island) and Five (Greater Wellington)
^Wairarapa United pulled their men's team out of the Central League before the start of the 2022 season, leaving the women's team as their top senior team.[11]
