Table coming soon….
This page covers the New Zealand National League, the country’s top club football competition for men and women, run by New Zealand Football. The live table below shows the current National League standings and updates automatically after each round, so you can see exactly where every club sits on points. Read on for how the competition is built, which clubs reach it, how the order is decided and how the national champion is crowned.
What the New Zealand National League is
The New Zealand National League is the top tier of club football in New Zealand. New Zealand Football launched it in 2021 as the country’s premier domestic competition, and it currently runs under the Dettol National League naming. It is a two-stage competition: regional leagues in the first part of the year decide who qualifies, and a national Championship phase then crowns the champion and sends clubs on to Oceania’s continental competition.
Quick facts
| Competition | New Zealand National League (Dettol National League) |
|---|---|
| Governing body | New Zealand Football |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Level | Top tier of men’s and women’s club football in New Zealand |
| Current format | Regional leagues (Northern, Central, Southern) feeding a 10-team national Championship phase, then a Grand Final |
| Championship clubs | 10 (single round-robin, nine rounds) |
| Continental prize | OFC Champions League places (men’s finalists; women’s champion) |
| From 2027 | Single club-based, double round-robin winter leagues (men 12, women 10) with play-offs, a final and promotion/relegation |
| Official information | nzfootball.co.nz |
How the competition is structured
The National League has two distinct phases in a single season. The regional phase sorts the clubs; the Championship phase then puts the best of them into one national table.
The regional phase
Three regional leagues feed the competition: the Northern, Central and Southern Leagues. They run from around March to September, with clubs playing home-and-away fixtures inside their own region. These are ordinary league tables, so if you are new to them it helps to know how to read a sports standings table and what column abbreviations such as GP, W, D, L and GD mean. Where a club finishes in its regional league decides whether it reaches the national stage.
The Championship phase
The Championship phase is the national table shown above. Ten qualifying clubs form a single competition and each team plays every other team once over nine rounds. The club top of the table at the end of those rounds is named the premier, and the top two clubs advance to the Grand Final that decides the title.
Which clubs qualify from each regional league
The ten Championship places are shared across the three regional leagues plus a reserve side, as set out below. The exact allocation is confirmed in New Zealand Football’s regulations for each season.
How clubs qualify
| Regional league | Places in the Championship phase |
|---|---|
| Northern League | Top 4 clubs |
| Central League | Top 3 clubs |
| Southern League | Top 2 clubs |
| Reserve side | 1 (Wellington Phoenix Reserves) |
| Total | 10 clubs |
In short, the Northern League sends its top four clubs, the Central League its top three, and the Southern League its top two, with a Wellington Phoenix reserve side completing the field of ten. A club has to finish high enough in its regional table to claim one of those places.
How the table is ranked
Clubs earn the standard three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat, and the table is ordered by total points. When clubs are level on points, a tiebreaker chain is applied: goal difference first, then goals scored, then the record between the clubs involved, with disciplinary record and, as a last resort, the drawing of lots used if sides are still inseparable. The precise order is set in the competition regulations each season, so if the mechanics are new to you our guide to how points and tiebreakers rank a table walks through the same ideas in plain English.
The Grand Final and crowning a champion
Finishing top of the Championship table makes a club the premier, but the national champion is decided by the Grand Final. The two clubs that finish first and second in the round-robin meet in a one-off final, and the winner is crowned New Zealand’s champion club. The 2026 men’s National League Grand Final is scheduled for the weekend of 12-13 December 2026 (NZDT), with the venue and kick-off time confirmed closer to the date; the women’s Grand Final is set for late November.
How clubs qualify for the OFC Champions League
The National League is New Zealand’s pathway into Oceania’s top continental club competition. On the men’s side, the two Championship Grand Final clubs go forward to the OFC Men’s Champions League, where the eventual winner represents New Zealand internationally. On the women’s side, the National League champion qualifies directly for the OFC Women’s Champions League. That continental place is a large part of why the Championship phase matters beyond the domestic title.
Season dates and the calendar
In 2026 the regional leagues kicked off on 21 March and ran through to around late August and September. The Championship-phase fixtures were confirmed in September, with the national round-robin and Grand Final filling out the rest of the year to mid-December. Kick-off times are published in New Zealand time (NZDT in summer, NZST in winter), so there is no time-zone conversion for local fans following from home.
What changes from 2027
The structure described above is set to change. Under New Zealand Football’s National Competition Plan, from 2027 the top men’s and women’s competitions become fully club-based, double round-robin leagues played in the traditional winter season, replacing the current summer Championship phase. The men’s competition is planned at 12 teams and the women’s at 10, each with play-offs, a final and promotion and relegation between tiers. Permanent residents of New Zealand will continue to count as local rather than foreign players. Until that model begins, the two-stage format on this page applies.
How to follow the National League from New Zealand
A selection of men’s and women’s National League matches is streamed live and free each weekend, with coverage carried on FIFA+ and the DAZN platform; which fixtures are shown is announced ahead of each round. Official results and standings are published by New Zealand Football. If you also follow other codes, our overview of New Zealand’s main sports standings explains where the rugby, league, netball and cricket tables live too.
Looking for England’s National League?
If you arrived here searching for England’s National League – the fifth tier of English football, sitting below the English Football League – this page is about the New Zealand competition of the same name. For the English pyramid, search for that division by name or check its official league website, as the standings, clubs and promotion rules are entirely separate from New Zealand’s.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the New Zealand National League?
It is the top tier of club football in New Zealand for men and women, launched by New Zealand Football in 2021. Clubs first play in regional leagues, and the best of them contest a national Championship phase that ends in a Grand Final.
How do clubs qualify for the National League Championship?
Ten clubs qualify through the regional leagues: the top four from the Northern League, the top three from the Central League and the top two from the Southern League, together with a Wellington Phoenix reserve side.
How is the National League table ranked?
Clubs get three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Teams level on points are separated by goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head record, with disciplinary record and a drawing of lots as final tiebreakers under the season’s regulations.
How does a New Zealand club reach the OFC Champions League?
The two men’s clubs in the Championship Grand Final go forward to the OFC Men’s Champions League, and the women’s National League champion qualifies for the OFC Women’s Champions League.
How is the National League changing in 2027?
From 2027 the top men’s (12 teams) and women’s (10 teams) competitions become single club-based, double round-robin leagues played in winter, with play-offs, a final and promotion and relegation, replacing the current regional-then-Championship format.