New Zealand Football Championship
The New Zealand Football Championship is a professional men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a myriad of short-lived football leagues in the country, including the National Soccer League, the National Summer Soccer League and the New Zealand Superclub League. The league is currently contested by ten teams in a franchise system. For sponsorship reasons, the competition is known as the ISPS Handa Premiership.
Seasons run from October through to April, and consist of an eighteen-round regular season followed by a playoff series involving the four highest-placed teams, culminating in a Grand Final. Each season, two clubs gain qualification to the OFC Champions League, the continental competition for the Oceania region. The league does not use a system of promotion and relegation, unlike most other world leagues.
Auckland City are the most successful side since the competition's inception, with seven titles. A youth competition, called the National Youth League, runs parallel to the regular season from October to December – the most recent champions are also Auckland City.
Competition format
There are two stages to the competition: the regular season, in which each team plays each other twice for a total of 18 games; and the playoffs, in which the top four teams in the league play knockout matches in order to determine the champion.Regular season
Each team plays each other team twice: once at home, and once away. Teams score three points for a win, one for a draw, and no points for a loss. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams progress to the playoffs.For the first four seasons, the regular season had the teams play each other three times. This was changed to the present home-and-away system in 2008, due to financial difficulties affecting some of the clubs.
Playoffs
The playoffs consist of three matches; there are two semi-final matches, and the winners of each progress to a one-match Grand Final.In the inaugural season, three teams took part in the playoffs. The Minor Premier received automatic entry to the grand final as well as hosting rights, while the second and third placed teams played a one-game preliminary final to determine entry to the grand final. The NZFC also 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. The league changed to its current four-team playoff system in the 2009–10 season.
Qualification to OFC Champions league
Two teams from the NZFC qualify for the OFC Champions League each season: the team that won the regular season and the team that won the Grand Final. If the same team wins both the Minor Premiership and the Championship, the second Champions League spot is granted to the regular season runner-up. This has occurred on numerous occasions; the first instance being in 2006 when Auckland City and YoungHeart Manawatu qualified YoungHeart Manawatu not making it to the Grand Final.No promotion and relegation exists, making it a closed league similar to the A-League in Australia and Major League Soccer 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, 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. The Olé Academy, previously having had a relationship with Team Wellington, currently holds an exclusive partnership with current league side Eastern Suburbs. East Auckland also considered legal action, however this was not pursued.
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 reorganize 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 Tahitian 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 reapply 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.
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.
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. 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."
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.
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 defeated Auckland City 4–2 after extra time in the final. The 2018-19 saw Eastern Suburbs crowned as champions for the first time, becoming the first club to win the NZFC and the New Zealand National Soccer League.
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.Rebrandings
In September 2016, it was announced that the expanded league would be rebranded as the Stirling Sports Premiership.In March 2017, it was announced that the league would be rebranded as the ISPS Handa Premiership, due to a three-year sponsorship deal with ISPS Handa.
Clubs
Until 2019, the New Zealand Football Championship had no promotion or relegation, similar to leagues in Australia and the United States. A promotion and relegation system will be introduced to the National League in 2020/2021, taking the form of a slot protection model. This model protects one National League slot for each major region of the country to protect geographic representation and maintain a pathway for all clubs into the ISPS Handa Premiership. A slot for the Wellington Phoenix's reserve side will also be protected. Promotion and relegation will be decided every 4 years.Current clubs
Former clubs
Name changes
- Napier City Rovers → Hawke's Bay United
- Otago United → Southern United
- Waikato FC → WaiBOP United
Champions and premiers
Premiership winners
Championship winners
Awards
; Golden BootThe Golden Boot is presented to the player who scores the most goals during the season.
| Year | Player | Club | Goals |
| 2007–08 |  Graham Little | Team Wellington | 12 |
| 2008–09 |  Luis Corrales | Team Wellington | 12 |
| 2009–10 |  Seule Soromon | YoungHeart Manawatu | 9 |
| 2010–11 | Allan Pearce | Waitakere United | 13 |
| 2011–12 |  George Slefendorfas | Canterbury United | 12 |
| 2012–13 |  Roy Krishna | Waitakere United | 12 |
| 2013–14 |  Emiliano Tade | Auckland City | 12 |
| 2014–15 | Tyler Boyd Tom Jackson Sean Lovemore | Wellington Phoenix Southern United Hawke's Bay United | 10 |
| 2015–16 | Ryan De Vries | Auckland City | 15 |
| 2016–17 | Tom Jackson | Team Wellington | 16 |
| 2017–18 | Emiliano Tade | Auckland City | 16 |
| 2018–19 | Callum McCowatt | Eastern Suburbs | 21 |
| 2019–20 | Myer Bevan | Auckland City | 15 |
; Team of the Decade
In 2014, to celebrate the first 10 years of the league under the franchise format, New Zealand Football announced an official Team of the Decade and five individual player awards.
Prior to the ASB Premiership Grand Final in 2014, the Team of the Decade was announced, as selected by a panel of media experts. The team was selected in a 4–3–3 formation.
| Position | Player | Club |
| Goalkeeper | Danny Robinson | Waikato, Waitakere United |
| Defenders | James Pritchett | Auckland City |
| Defenders | Ivan Vicelich | Auckland City |
| Defenders | Danny Hay | Waitakere United |
| Defenders | Ian Hogg | Hawke's Bay United, Waitakere United, Auckland City |
| Midfielders | Chris Bale | Waitakere United, Team Wellington FC, Auckland City |
| Midfielders | Aaron Clapham | Canterbury United |
| Midfielders | Albert Riera | Auckland City |
| Strikers |  Keryn Jordan | Waitakere United, Auckland City |
| Strikers | Roy Krishna | Waitakere United, Auckland City |
| Strikers | Benjamin Totori | YoungHeart Manawatu, Waitakere United |
| Substitutes | Ross Nicholson | Auckland City, YoungHeart Manawatu |
| Substitutes | Ben Sigmund | Canterbury United, Auckland City |
| Substitutes | Jake Butler | Waitakere United |
| Substitutes | Allan Pearce | Waitakere United |
| Substitutes | Grant Young | Hawke's Bay United, Waitakere United, Auckland City |
| Coach | Alan Jones | Auckland City |
; Players of the Decade
Throughout the 2013–14 national league season, four Player of the Decade awards 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.
| Award | Player | Club |
| Player of the Decade | Keryn Jordan | Waitakere United, Auckland City |
| Goalkeeper of the Decade | Danny Robinson | Waikato, Waitakere United |
| Defender of the Decade | Ivan Vicelich | Auckland City |
| Midfielder of the Decade | Aaron Clapham | Canterbury United |
| Striker of the Decade | Roy Krishna | Waitakere United, Auckland City |
Records and statistics
; Regular season matchesAs of December 2, 2018
| Club | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |||||||||
| Auckland City | 15 | 216 | 152 | 34 | 30 | 543 | 220 | +323 | 490 | 8 | 4 | 1 | - |
| Canterbury United | 14 | 216 | 87 | 39 | 90 | 352 | 335 | +17 | 300 | - | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 2 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 30 | - | - | - | - |
| Hawke's Bay United¹ | 14 | 216 | 84 | 38 | 94 | 369 | 418 | −49 | 290 | - | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Southern United² | 14 | 216 | 42 | 34 | 140 | 231 | 498 | −267 | 160 | - | - | - | - |
| Tasman United | 2 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Team Wellington | 14 | 216 | 107 | 37 | 72 | 460 | 364 | +96 | 358 | - | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| WaiBOP United³ | 12 | 198 | 61 | 28 | 109 | 272 | 410 | −138 | 211 | - | - | 1 | - |
| Waitakere United | 14 | 216 | 130 | 28 | 58 | 480 | 275 | +205 | 418 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Wanderers SC | 2 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 20 | 61 | 86 | −25 | 28 | - | - | - | - |
| Wellington Phoenix | 4 | 48 | 12 | 8 | 28 | 68 | 101 | −33 | 44 | - | - | - | - |
| YoungHeart Manawatu | 9 | 154 | 51 | 25 | 78 | 253 | 344 | −91 | 178 | - | 2 | 1 | - |
; Finals matches
As of the conclusion of the 2016–17 season
| Club | 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 |
; Largest victories
| Season | Home team | Result | Away team | Date |
| 2013–14 | Southern United | 0 – 10 | Auckland City | 16 February 2013 |
| 2006–07 | Waitakere United | 8 – 0 | Southern United | 8 March 2007 |
| 2007–08 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 0 – 8 | Team Wellington | 6 January 2008 |
| 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 United | 20 January 2013 |
| 2005–06 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 8 – 1 | Hawke's Bay United | 18 February 2006 |
| 2006–07 | Team Wellington | 7 – 0 | Hawke's Bay United | 26 January 2007 |
| 2011–12 | Canterbury United | 7 – 0 | Hawke's Bay United | 4 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 United | 20 January 2013 |
| 2012–13 | Waitakere United | 6 – 4 | Hawke's Bay United | 9 March 2013 |
| 2013–14 | Southern United | 0 – 10 | Auckland City | 16 February 2013 |
| 2005–06 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 8 – 1 | Hawke's Bay United | 18 February 2006 |
| 2007–08 | Waikato | 4 – 5 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 30 March 2008 |
| 2011–12 | YoungHeart Manawatu | 2 – 7 | Waitakere United | 15 January 2012 |
Related competitions
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 ISPS Handa 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. The fixture pits the ASB Premiership Grand Final winner against the best performing New Zealand team in the OFC Champions League. 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.| 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 | Auckland City |
| 2015 | Auckland City | 3–0 | Team Wellington |
| 2016 | Auckland City | 3–1 | Team Wellington |
| 2017 | Team Wellington | 3–1 | Auckland City FC |
| 2018 | Auckland City | 4–3 | 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, 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, its last appearance.
; 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 ISPS Handa Premiership regular season.
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 2011–12 | Team Wellington | 6–1 | Waikato FC |