Aotearoa Domestic Football Roundup – August 31
Men’s Central League
First things first, there were three teams with the potential to lift the Central League title heading into the last day of fixtures. The possibilities for Miramar Rangers and Wellington Olympic required a spiralling mixture of other results but for Napier City Rovers the task was as simple as it gets: win. If they were victorious away against last-placed FC Western then the trophy would be theirs for the first time since 2018, in the process snapping a 1841-day championship stretch for Wellington Olympic who’d won the previous five titles in a row. That streak has now been snapped because Rovers won 6-0 in New Plymouth.
Goals from Jim Hoyle, Aston Hurd, Leo Brown x2, and Sam Lack x2. Dunno about the exact timings there (the clock in the clips below wasn’t aligned) but they took the lead around ten mins deep and were 3-0 up at HT before adding three more in the last ten minutes of the match/season. That’s how it’s done – leave no room for doubt. Napier City went 14-2-2, only drawing twice with Western Suburbs (0-0 home in March, 3-3 away in June) and losing twice to Miramar (2-1 away in May, 3-2 home last week). They did the double over four-time defending champs Wellington Olympic and also made it to the semis of the Chatham Cup. This was a massive season for the club as they sought to confirm their future in the refreshed National League format and Bill Robertson’s boys have gone above and beyond those ambitions.
That result took the sting out of the others but there was still a frisky finish between Miramar Rangers and Western Suburbs, with Alex Hawkes giving Wests a late lead (85’) only for Martin Bueno to level things straight back up from the penalty spot (88’ pen). Miramar drew three of their last five games to end up three points adrift of NCR, with that stretch a few weeks back where they were held 1-1 by Petone, lost 2-1 away to Cashmere Tech in the Chatham Cup, then were held 0-0 at home by Waterside Karori ultimately slammed the handbrake on their season. But it ain’t over yet because they’re double-qualified for National League. That Martin Bueno penalty was a pretty important one as it gave him his 11th goal of the campaign to draw him level with Kyle Carr, the American forward for Wests (who didn’t play this game). There are one or two catch-up games remaining to be played around the leagues but not in the Men’s Central League. This one’s done and dusted and we’ve got shared Golden Boots.
Wellington Olympic will be kicking themselves over a few results gone awry because their 2-1 win over Waterside Karori on Saturday left them agonisingly within touching distance of extending their championship run. The Greeks jumped to second thanks to Miramar’s draw, only two points behind Napier City. If they’d found a winner against Petone last round, instead of drawing 1-1, then they would have won it based on goals scored over Napier, assuming all the other results stayed the same (including Napier’s). But really it was the 3-2 loss to Napier City in June that was most consequential, when they ended with ten men and conceded a last-minute Sam Lack goal having earlier been up 2-1. Gianni Bouzoukis (27’) and Kailan Gould (45+1’) scored their goals against the Wharfies with Samuel Law (79’) keeping it interesting towards the end. Gould’s was the pick of those goals, a curling effort from distance off his trusty left-boot.
Elsewhere, Petone went 1-0 up against Island Bay United thanks to a goal from Xavier Coleman (18’)... but Giovanni Darroch levelled things up in the second half (62’) before Brock Ironside won it late for IBU (87’). 2-1 to Island Bay, final score. Turned into a decent season for Island Bay in the end, finishing comfortably up in sixth after winning their last three games in a row. Just a pity for them that the WeeNix couldn’t do them a favour against UHC or they could have jumped into the top half of the standings. Instead it was Wellington Phoenix Reserves 1-2 Upper Hutt City. Rio Winkworth scored both for UHC (1’, 87’) while Grayson Lunman scored late for the Nix (88’), his first goal at this level. Winkworth’s opener arrrived 44 seconds after the match kickoff, following up after a defensive turnover had given Lucas Hansen a chance. Hansen was also involved in the second goal – if he’d scored them both then he’d have won the Golden Boot. Instead he’ll settle for 10 goals and a breakthrough season.
Another frustrating defeat for the WeeNix. It’s been their worst ever Central League campaign by quite a margin only winning two matches all year and finishing second to last. But they had five draws along the way and 9 of their 11 losses were by single goal margins (all either 0-1 or 1-2). Wellington Olympic were the only team to win by multiple goals against this WeeNix side and even those losses weren’t that bad (3-1 and 2-0). They were always close... but when you keep losing close games over and over that’s more than just bad luck. The fact that Nathan Walker was the WeeNix top scorer with three goals is a blatant indicator of where they struggled most: couldn’t put the damn ball in the net. Less than a goal per game on average.
Wellington Phoenix in Men’s Central League
| Place | Games | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Lower Hutt City | 6th | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 49 | 40 | 9 | 27 |
| 2020 | Lower Hutt City | 5th | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 35 | 4 | 22 |
| 2021 | Lower Hutt City | 3rd | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 70 | 26 | 44 | 41 |
| 2022 | Wellington Phoenix | 3rd | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 33 |
| 2023 | Wellington Phoenix | 2nd | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 47 | 29 | 18 | 37 |
| 2024 | Wellington Phoenix | 5th | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 32 | 38 | -6 | 24 |
| 2025 | Wellington Phoenix | 4th | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 44 | 26 | 18 | 29 |
| 2026 | Wellington Phoenix | 9th | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 11 |
A whopping 37 different players took the pitch for the WeeNix across these 18 matches, the 37th of those being former Ferrymead Bays junior Arlie Loughnan (17yo) who went straight into the starting side for his debut in this last game of the season. Dylan Gardiner, Hayden Thomas, and Luke Mitchell (all 20yo) were the most prominent dudes, each appearing in 17 out of 18 games.
Women’s Central League
Wellington United already confirmed their Central League title last week (for the eighth time in the past 11 years), giving their home game against Palmerston North United an air of celebration. The Diamonds are always very good at recognising the achievements of their players and staff so coach Guillermo Schiltenwolf was commemorated beforehand for what was presumably his 250th game in charge (across a couple stints in the job). At least, there was a big “250” on the plaque they presented him so presumably that’s what it was for. Then came a very cool and sporting gesture from PNU to give the champs a guard of honour as they walked out onto the pitch.
From there it wasn’t so civil... as the Diamonds sprinted out to a 6-0 lead after half an hour before easing up into an 8-0 final scoreline. Farina Anchico (11’), Hannah Pilley (14’), Kennedy Corkin (18’), Anchico (19’), Pilley (21’), Pilley (28’), Own Goal (68’), Pilley (70’). Absolutely devastating spell of five goals in just over ten minuets in there. Four more goals to the tally of Hannah Pilley who finishes the season with an insane haul of 30 of the suckers – even more insane for the fact that’s five short of what Natalie Olson scored to win the Golden Boot for the Diamonds last year. Next challenge is to take that into the National League. Farina Anchico also scored twice to finish with 15 to her name. As a team they scored 96 times in 17 matches... would surely have hit triple figures if they’d been able to face Taradale for a second time. On top of all that, United had the equal best defensive record too.
That was slightly more emphatic than Waterside Karori 7-0 Victoria University... but only slightly. And not nearly as valuable because that win confirmed that the Wharfies will be back in the National League in a few weeks. They missed out last season but the rebuild has been swift. Goals here came courtesy of Natalie Orellana (23’), Taylor Cooper (24’), Jessica Woodside (29’), Own Goal (39’), Sophie Burchfield (53’), Ella McMillan (57’), and Margot Ramsay (88’). All different scorers. American forward Burchfield’s 20 goals puts her second on the Top Scorer’s chart... better than a goal per game and she didn’t even get close to Pilley, damn. But keep an eye on her if she sticks around for the Nats, keep an eye on all of them because the Wharfies finished their season winning four straight without conceding.
The heftiest win of the weekend belonged to Petone with a 10-0 thrashing of Seatoun. A warning that you might need to stop for a rest reading all this: Pepi Olliver-Bell (10’), POB (17’), Olivia Gibbs (18’), POB (34’), Phoebe Gray (37’), Own Goal (45+3’), POB (49’), Emmy Lantz (52’), POB (64’), Phoebe Hawes (70’). Righto. Five for Pepi Olliver-Bell to finish equal third with Anchico in the WCL scoring charts with 15 strikes. Curiously, this was the third different team that Petone have beaten 10-0 this season... they also did it to Vic Uni in May and Palmy Marist in June. Alas, they only won one of their four matches against United and Karori which is why they fell narrowly shy of National League qualification. What’s worse, they’re also going to be stuck in the Central League next year while Wellington United and Waterside Karori move upwards into the new National League. Note that the Wellington Phoenix Reserves will be part of that competition so the Phoenix U18s who play Central League will remain where they are.
Lovely stuff for Palmerston North Marist to finish with a 2-0 win over Miramar Rangers. Caylee Fergus (43’ pen & 79’ pen) with a pair of spot kicks to get the job done there. Snaps a nine-game losing streak during which their only two goals were scored by Fergus and an opposition OG. That means that no PNM player other than Caylee Fergus has scored since Ruby-Aroha Gurnick in the 1-1 draw against Seatoun in May. Fergus also scored the winner when they beat Vic Uni 1-0 for their previous victory three-and-a-half months ago.
And that was that. Still one more game to be played next week when Seatoun host the Wellington Phoenix U18s. The WeeNix can leap up a spot to fourth (ahead of Palmerston North United) if they win that one. That will clash with the Oceania U16s and the U20 World Cup so we’ll see what kind of squad the Nix U18s string together.
Men’s Northern League
There were three things left to be sorted in the Northern League. One was fourth place, with Auckland United and Fencibles United slugging it out for the last spot in this year’s National League. Another was the Golden Boot race. And the last one was Birkenhead United’s quest to go undefeated throughout the season – hoping to match what Auckland City and Eastern Suburbs achieved in the 2023 Northern League. But that’ll have to wait because Olympic Park got sogged out in the rain and therefore Bay Olympic vs Birkenhead United has been rescheduled for Tuesday night.
Okay so how about that fourth-placed scrap then? It was Fencibles United vs Western Springs and it was East Coast Bays vs Auckland United. AUFC only needed to win, although goal difference was a slight factor. Fencies needed to better AUFC’s result or exceed their winning margin by at least five goals. East Coast Bays still had the tiniest of chances themselves but needed to win by such a margin to make it irrelevant. With concurrent kickoffs, neither were straightforward games. It was Fencibles who were first to strike when they took the lead via Dylan Laing-McConnell (28’)... only to promptly concede an equaliser to Riley Manuel (29’), with Western Springs not willing to go down without a fight knowing they’ve gotta stay sharp with National League playoffs coming up. All level at the break in that one.
Across town at a drenched Bay City Park, Auckland Utd finally broke through in the shadows of half-time when Jack Beer sent a free kick short up the line with everyone expecting a shot or cross. Otto Ingham’s low ball into the centre was diverted in for an own goal (44’). Advantage Auckland United. The next development was Matt Conroy setting up Ingham for AUFC’s second (57’) to really put them in the box seat. Further goals for substitutes Oli Fay (66’) and Shuto Kono (90+6’) wrapped it up as a 4-0 win for Auckland United. Kono’s goal was the last kick of the game.
Given that result, Fencies would have needed to win 9-0 to climb into fourth and that obviously wasn’t happening. But they did win 3-1 thanks to Leonardo Gavilan (73’) and James Fuller (90+2’) goals. Therefore fourth place went to Auckland United and Fencibles will just have to focus on next week’s Chatham Cup final instead, oh well, as far as consolation prizes go that’s a pretty good one. Auckland Utd finish on 41 points with a 12-5-5 record and +26 goal difference. Fencibles Utd finish on 41 points with a 13-2-7 record and +19 goal difference. Fencies scored more goals and won more games but also conceded and lost a lot more.
Auckland City returned from winning yet another OFC Champions League to take a 1-0 win away against Melville United. Adam Mitchell headed in the only goal from a Nathan Lobo corner kick (53’) for the decisive moment. Quality stuff considering they made quite a number of changes, resting a lot of players who were busy at the OCL and giving chances to some of those who weren’t, including a start for 19yo reserve goalkeeper Ari Prasad. Third place for ACFC this year.
Second place for Eastern Suburbs after they won 3-0 against the Auckland FC Reserves to wrap their Northern League efforts up. Only nine goals conceded in 22 matches for the Lilywhites, with Jack De Groot tallying up 11 clean sheets in his 17 appearances. Oliver Pocock (2 in 4) and Jonas Hoffman (1 in 1) also kept cleanies along the way. Incredible stuff. Also incredible is that Ignacio Machuca Maturana opened the scoring after 49 mins which means the Chilean has scored in four consecutive games – he’s not even a striker. Hector Echague (60’, 81’) scored the other two to give himself a crack at the Golden Boot but he didn’t find the third he needed to catch Monty Patterson (who still has one game to go for Birko, therefore would have had the right of response anyway).
Defeat for the AFC Reserves... although with four wins from their last eight games the Squires have shown similar growth across the season to what they did last year, despite having a very different squad, and we saw in 2025 how well they were able to translate that into National League. Bit of a Last Day of School look to the line-up here with coach Rory Fallon making five changes to the side that beat Melville last week, including a first start for Herewini Insley.
And how about Tauranga City? Despite losing nine games in a row, the last four of those without even scoring, they suddenly exploded with a 7-1 win against Manukau United. Goals from Jack Veale (16’), Colby Brennan (30’), Liam Molloy (40’), Colin Innes (47’), Thomas Page (52’), Brennan (52’), and an own goal (75’) doing all sorts of carnage before Russell Currie (85’) at least gave Manukau something to show for their road trip. Clearly Manukau were not in a mood for such activities having already been doomed to last place no matter what happened. Lucky for them, it’s recalibration year so they don’t have to be relegated.
Or another way to look at it is that they’re taking half the division down with them since the Northern League is moving down a tier. With five, possibly six, teams rising from Northern into Nationals next year, that means half the Championship is also moving upwards to replace them (although the Northern League will drop from 12 teams to 10 teams to make it all cleaner). Northern Rovers, Takapuna FC, and Hibiscus Coast have earned those honours... with Onehunga-Mangere United on standby in case Western Springs win the NL playoffs. If that all sounds very North Auckland-centric, well, that’s just how the cookie crumbled. Hamilton Wanderers were two points back from catching Hibiscus Coast.
Women’s NRFL Premiership
The closest of all the title races was this one, with Auckland United and Eastern Suburbs having gone back and forth throughout the year leaving us in a position heading into the final week of matches where, barring anything shocking, goal difference would determine the champion. AUFC had a huge advantage there so they simply needed to win their final two matches.
The most likely chance of an Auckland United stumble was when they hosted Fencibles United on Thursday night... but they sure didn’t look like a team with any consideration of failure as they basically camped out around the Fencies defensive area the whole game. Chloe Bellamy missed a good chance early after a killer through ball from Aniela Jensen. Jensen later sliced one of her own while Rena Okutsu couldn’t convert a low cross. But they got there soon enough when Okutsu’s free kick was met by Alaina Granger at the back post (35’) - first goal of the season for Granger and it could hardly have been more valuable. Zoe Doughty trained and played alongside a few of these AUFC players for the Auckland FC Invitational side and she made a great save to prevent Olivia Ingham from immediately doubling the lead. Very solid defence from Fencibles, staying organised and limiting the opportunities as much as humanly possible. Eventually Bellamy did scored a deserved goal though (59’), pouncing first time on a parried shot in the box for that crucial second. 2-0 the final score. That left Auckland United one more win away from regaining the only trophy that eluded them last year.
They faced similar resistance against Ellerslie on Sunday... and this time they didn’t find that first-half breakthrough to ease any sense of panic. At the same time, Eastern Suburbs were in the middle of an 8-0 victory away against Melville United, doing what they needed to do thanks to Maddi Ollington (3’), Amelia Hitchcock (8’), Erika Skindlov (27’), Hitchcock (43’), Ollington (56’), Ella Findlay (66’), Nicole Mettam (86’), and Ollington for a third time (90+2’). No worries there for the Lilywhites, taking the lead early and running away with it. However, they would have needed to win by at least another twenty to have any hope of overturning the goal difference margin so all they could do was hope and pray that Ellerslie could survive another 45 minutes against the might of AUFC.
Ellerslie could not. Olivia Ingham finally scrambled one over the line for Auckland United (52’) and then Charlotte Roche (57’) and Talisha Green (88’) added the safety net as United marched towards a 3-0 victory and with it claimed the NRFL Premiership. They wrapped it up with seven wins on the bounce including that critical 6-4 victory against Eastern Suburbs and a pair of wins against Fencibles. The only dampener on the moment was Ollington’s hat-trick in the other game meaning that she claimed the Golden Boot outright (in the final seconds of the season) with 17 goals ahead of AUFC’s Maggie Jenkins whose 16 goals had been leading the way right up until that moment despite having only played seven matches before departing to Australia way back in May. Almost held on but not quite.
Auckland United in the past four years...
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRFL Premiership | Champions | Champions | Runners-Up | Champions |
| Kate Sheppard Cup | Round Three | Champions | Champions | Quarter-Finals |
| OFC Champions League | N/A | Champions | Champions | Champions |
| National League | Champions | Champions | Champions | TBD |
West Coast Rangers vs Tauranga Moana was a default win in favour of WCR. Never like to see a game defaulted though it didn’t make any difference to the standings either way. Tauranga Moana lost 19 of their 20 games this season. They’ve got a super young squad and last week travelled to Auckland United only to lose 12-0. The Reserves game between the two clubs was also defaulted. The only relevant aspect to that match was going to be whether Emily Lyon could have scored the four to five goals required to have a nudge at Golden Boot except that she’d already linked up with the NZ U20s ahead of the World Cup with bigger fish to fry and all that.
That only leaves a 1-1 draw between Western Springs and Fencibles United. Katie Rood scored for Springs (31’) while Mackenzie Rastatter scored for Fencies (35’). Good point for the Swans whose first eight games saw them outscored 36-0 but steady improvements and a couple of helpful transfers meant their last 12 games have come with a far more competitive span of results...
Western Springs First 8 Games:
0 W | 0 D | 8 L | 0 GF | 36 GA | -36 GD | 0 PTS
Western Springs Last 12 Games:
3 W | 4 D | 5 L | 19 GF | 16 GA | +3 GD | 13 PTS
They’ve still got an unplayed game against Tauranga Moana that was postponed awhile back, although you’d have to think it’s doubtful they play that one. It wouldn’t make any difference to the ladder and it’d only drag the season onwards for a pair of sides who won’t be playing National League. Western Springs will be there next year though – thanks to their legacy points from previous seasons. Fencibles have been a far superior side in 2026 and they might feel annoyed that they’ve been left behind in the NRFL Premiership at the expense of the past achievements of a version of Western Springs that doesn’t exist any more. But that’s another reason why this last round draw was a good result for Springs. They’re better than that overall record suggests. Fencies still have the 2026 National League to look forward to.
Men’s Southern League
Two things that mattered heading into the last round of the Men’s Southern League: who would grab second spot out of Ferrymead Bays and Nomads United (Bays had a two-point advantage); and was there any chance of Selwyn United getting the win they needed to avoid the wooden spoon. Cashmere Technical’s unbeaten campaign was also on the watchlist but they’ve got a rescheduled game in two weeks against Wānaka so that can’t be completed until then. It could have been ruined if they’d taken their eyes off the ball... but of course that didn’t happen. Cashmere Technical won 6-0 against Nelson Suburbs away with goals from Zander Edwards (13’), Lyle Matthysen (31’), Garbhan Coughlan (33’ & 35’), Matthysen (45’), and then half a game later for Rory Hibbert (90’). Okey doke, put that one in the books then and it’s onto the Chatham Cup final next week for Tech.
Nomads United did what they could with an 8-1 win against Selwyn United, in turn condemning Selwyn to last place. Nomads actually needed to win by one more than that if they were to overtake Ferrymead Bays in the event of a draw – this result was only good enough for them if Bays lost (in which case a 1-0 win would have been good enough). Nevertheless, they gave it a fair old crack. Goals from Jesse Burge (27’), Will McKee (34’), and Burge (36’) in the first half. Oliver Hawkey got one back for Selwyn (61’). Then the dams burst with Cooper Goldsmith (73’), William Turner (74’), Turner (87’), Goldsmith (90’), and Hugo King (90+5’) all scoring additional Nomads goals. Two each for Burge, Turner, and Goldsmith.
Again though, that would only lift Nomads into the Nats if Ferrymead Bays lost at home against Dunedin City Royals. Unfortunately for them, that was never more than hypothetical. Ferrymead Bays quickly jumped out into a happy lead with goals from Omar Cameron (15’) and Treye Butler (32’) and while Ashton Hodson (75’ pen) did keep it frisky in the latter phases, Ferrymead Bays got the 2-1 victory that they needed and will be contesting the 2026 National League. Get in. The last three years have seen Cashmere Technical, Christchurch United, Coastal Spirit, and now Ferrymead Bays all qualify for the Nats from this division.
As for next year’s revamped edition, that’s a Cashmere Technical and Coastal Spirit thing. Coastal Spirit were 8-2 victors away against Wānaka in their last game of the year. Max Chretien (9’), Leo Uribe (17’), Liam Cotter (26’), and Yusuf van Dam (29’) capitalised in a sizzling first thirty. Stanley Blair pulled one back for Wānaka (38’) but Aporosa Yada restored the margin before HT (45’). Then it was Chretien again (49’), AJ Wilson (52’), and Thomas Moon (61’) before Hector Marin struck a late consolation the other way (82’). Coastal didn’t put up much of a title defence however they were a whole lot stronger than Christchurch United were this year and that’s what mattered as far as 2027 MNL qualification goes.
Christchurch United can still make it into the new National League division via the playoffs. They’ll begin those at home next week versus Western Suburbs, with Western Springs representing the other region. Each plays each other. One game at home, one game away. Whoever wins both of their playoff games grabs the final qualification spot and if nobody does so, then points and goal difference across the three overall games will be the decider. In the meantime, Christchurch United won 2-0 away against Northern thanks to very early goals from Rovu Boyers (4’) and Charlie Beale (8’). Bit of welcome form for a team that’d only won one of their previous six. That all goes out the window for playoffs now.
Women’s South Island League
Did Cashmere Technical lose this week? Nope. The undefeated run lives on after they flew to Dunedin and won 3-0 against Otago University – revenge against the only team to take a point off them this year. Goals were scored by Kailey Short (45’), Anya Stephan (73’), and Jemma Wilson (90+3’). Nothing for Margi Dias but she didn’t need to be greedy having already scored 20 goals to put her name on the Golden Boot. Next week they see if they can make it a couple in the Kate Sheppard Cup final, while a large number of these players should be in the last ever Canterbury United squad for National League (before Cashmere Technical take their place in the 2027 Women’s Nats).
Dunedin City Royals have a similar relationship with Southern United and have also qualified for the 2027 Nats. Just a sneaky 1-0 win for them away to NW United in their last game. Ruby Burgess with an 87th min winner as the Royals rolled with a very young squad. Still won though – helped by Emily Jones getting red carded for NWU late in the first half.
Universities of Canterbury completed a very solid campaign with a 3-0 win against Nelson Suburbs. Samantha Sinclair (34’) and Holly Lyon (37’, 72’) scored for them. Fourth place for UC. Good stuff. And what do ya know there was a 2-1 win for Roslyn Wakari against Coastal Spirit. Sienna Neill gave RW the lead at home after 11 mins but Olivia Woollett had the right of reply to make it 1-1 after 18 mins. Lots of early subs across these games as coaches took the opportunity to share around the minutes in the last game. In amongst all that, Zara Pratley scored (61’) the goal that gave Roslyn Wakari their second win of the year. Leaves them one point behind Coastal but the victory will be no less sweet for that.
It remains to be seen what’ll happen with the Southern/South Island Leagues next year. NRFL announced their restructures at the start of the year but the other federations haven’t been as onto it as that (though there seems to be an understanding on how the Central Leagues will move forward). The current idea floating around down south is that they might split back into Mainland and Southern federation leagues with the top few teams progressing to a mini-league at the end of the year... same as what they used to do in the early days of the South Island League. That’d save a lot of travel money yet it wouldn't deliver the best competition for those clubs to try get promoted into the National League down the line. But nothing’s been decided yet. See how it goes.
Men’s National League Qualifiers
Christchurch United vs Western Suburbs on Sunday 6 September
Western Suburbs vs Western Springs on Saturday 12 September
Western Springs vs Christchurch United on Saturday 19 September
2026 National League Qualifiers
MNL: Birkenhead United, Eastern Suburbs, Auckland City, Auckland United, Auckland FC, Napier City Rovers, Wellington Olympic, Miramar Rangers, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, Cashmere Technical, Ferrymead Bays
WNL: Auckland United, Eastern Suburbs, Fencibles United, West Coast Rangers, Wellington United, Waterside Karori, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, Canterbury United, Southern United
(Plus whatever NZF decides to do with Central Football’s abdicated spot – a third Central League side? An early, scrambled together Auckland FC rendition? Stick with nine teams and have a shorter season?)
2027 National League Qualifiers
MNL: Birkenhead United, Eastern Suburbs, Auckland City, Auckland United, Auckland FC, Napier City Rovers, Wellington Olympic, Miramar Rangers, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, Cashmere Technical, Coastal Spirit, [Playoff Winner]
WNL: Auckland United, Eastern Suburbs, West Coast Rangers, Western Springs, Auckland FC, Wellington United, Waterside Karori, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, Cashmere Technical, Dunedin City Royals
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