NRFL Premier

The Northern Region Football League Premier, currently known as the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier for sponsorship reasons, is a semi-professional New Zealand association football league competition that is run by the Auckland Football Federation.

NRFL Premier

Founded	1965
Country	New Zealand
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	2
Relegation to	Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1
Current champions	North Shore United (2019)
Most championships	Bay Olympic, Takapuna AFC, Central United (4)
Website	Auckland Football Federation
2020 NRFL Premier

The NRFL competitions are played during the off-season of the country's main football competition, the New Zealand Football Championship, and include football clubs located in the northern part of the North Island, New Zealand from the Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty provinces.

Along with the other top-tier regional league competitions, the NRFL Premier is considered to be on the second step of the New Zealand football league system, yet no promotion or relegation occurs between these leagues and the New Zealand Football Championship.

History

The first four years (1965–1969)

In the years 1965–1969, before the launch of a National Soccer League, the Northern League was the highest level competition available to the clubs in the northern region. When the National Soccer League was created in 1970, the Northern League became one of its feeder leagues.

In 1997 and 1998, when the National Soccer League operated as an invitation-only summer league, the Northern League again became the highest level club competition available to the clubs from the northern provinces.

Present day

With the demise of the club-based National Soccer League in 2004, the Northern League, now known as Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Men's Premier, became part of the highest level of football league competition in New Zealand for the third time in its history. The league runs between the New Zealand autumn and winter months (April to September), while the ASB Premiership runs between the New Zealand spring and summer months (October to March).

Current Northern League structure

• NRFL Premier (this page)
• NRFL Division 1
• NRFL Division 2

Sponsors

The following list is of the official sponsors of the League, unless otherwise noted.

Current

• Kia Motors 2010–2012, (marketing partner)
• Lotto Sport Italia 2008–2012, (primary sponsor)
• ASB Bank 2010–2012, (marketing partner)
• Prime (New Zealand) 2010–2012, (TV channel), (TV partner)
• FTN – Family Television Network 2010–2012, (TV channel), (TV partner)
• TVNZ 2010–2012,(TV channel), (official TV sponsor)
• Sky Network Television 2009–present, (TV channel), (TV partner – For national & international broadcasting)

Current clubs

As of the 2020 season.[1]

Team	Location	Stadium	Notes
Auckland United	Mount Roskill, Auckland	Keith Hay Park
Bay Olympic	New Lynn, Auckland	Olympic Park	2nd in 2019 NRFL Division 1; promoted
Birkenhead United	Birkenhead, Auckland	Shepherds Park
Central United	Sandringham, Auckland	Kiwitea Street
Eastern Suburbs Reserves	Kohimarama, Auckland	Madills Farm
Forrest Hill Milford	Forrest Hill, Auckland	Becroft Park	1st in 2019 NRFL Division 1; promoted
Hamilton Wanderers Reserves	Chartwell, Hamilton	Porritt Stadium
Manukau United	Māngere East, Auckland	Centre Park
Melville United	Melville, Hamilton	Gower Park
North Shore United	Devonport, Auckland	Allen Hill Stadium
Waitakere City	Whenuapai, Auckland	Fred Taylor Park
Western Springs	Westmere, Auckland	Seddon Fields

Past champions

1965 – Eastern Suburbs AFC 1966 – Eastern Suburbs AFC 1967 – Ponsonby AFC 1968 – Mount Wellington 1969 – Mount Wellington 1970 – Mt Albert 1971 – Takapuna City 1972 – Hamilton Wanderers 1973 – North Shore United 1974 – Eden 1975 – Manurewa 1976 – Hamilton Wanderers 1977 – Courier Rangers 1978 – Manurewa 1979 – Hamilton Wanderers 1980 – Takapuna City 1981 – East Coast Bays 1982 – Papatoetoe 1983 – University of Auckland 1984 – Hamilton Wanderers 1985 – Takapuna City 1986 – Mount Maunganui 1987 – AFC Waikato 1988 – Takapuna City 1989 – Mount Roskill 1990 – Mt Albert-Ponsonby 1991 – Papatoetoe

1992 – Oratia United 1993 – Ellerslie 1994 – Mount Maunganui 1995 – Melville United 1996 – Lynn-Avon United 1997 – Mount Wellington 1998 – Metro F.C. 1999 – Tauranga City 2000 – Tauranga City 2001 – North Shore United 2002 – Glenfield Rovers 2003 – Glenfield Rovers 2004 – Central United 2005 – Bay Olympic 2006 – Bay Olympic 2007 – Central United 2008 – Central United 2009 – Melville United 2010 – East Coast Bays 2011 – Bay Olympic 2012 – Bay Olympic 2013 - East Coast Bays 2014 - Glenfield Rovers 2015 – Eastern Suburbs AFC 2016 – Central United 2017 – Onehunga Sports 2018 – Onehunga Sports 2019 – North Shore United

Performance by club

Club	Location	Titles	Last Title
Bay Olympic	New Lynn	4	2011
Central United	Auckland	4	2016
Takapuna City	Takapuna	4	1988
Glenfield Rovers	Glenfield	3	2014
East Coast Bays	North Shore	3	2013
Mount Wellington	Auckland	3	1997
Hamilton Wanderers	Hamilton	3	1984
Eastern Suburbs	Kohimarama	3	2015
North Shore United	North Shore	3	2019
Melville United	Melville	2	2009
Tauranga City	Tauranga	2	2000
Mount Maunganui	Tauranga	2	1994
Papatoetoe	Papatoetoe	2	1991

Notable players

This list consists of past or present notable players that have either represented an international team, or made more than fifty appearances at a professional level in their careers.

David Browne Chris Wood Danny Hay Cameron Howieson Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi Tim Payne Marco Rojas Ryan Thomas Marko Đorđević Emiliano Tade

Albert Riera Víctor Espasandín Ivan Vicelich Faitalia Hamilton Gareth Rowe Ross Nicholson Kayne Vincent Cole Tinkler Kris Bright Sean Devine

References

1. http://www.aucklandfootball.org.nz/lottonrfl/Results-Fixtures

External links

• Auckland Football Federation
• Lotto NRFL Premier League
• Northern League Honours Board