New Zealand Football’s boy’s Youth National League will crown its first winners this weekend as the finals tournament kicks off at the recently opened New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) in Wellington. 

The eight qualified teams from the three regional leagues (Auckland United, Birkenhead United, Cashmere Technical, Nomads United, North Wellington/Onslow, Tauranga City, Wellington Phoenix Academy and Western Suburbs) will face-off over three days starting tomorrow (Friday 14 October). 

Every game from the finals tournament will be streamed live on the NZCIS YouTube channel. 

The boy’s Youth National League is a competition for players under 17 that mirrors the men’s National League. Teams compete in three regional leagues (Northern League, Central League and Southern League) with the top sides qualifying for the Youth National League finals series. 

New Zealand Football Talent Pathway Manager, and men’s U17 head coach, Martin Bullock sees the competition as critical to the development of young kiwi talent:

“It has been great to give some of our best U17 talent the opportunity to play a significant number of quality games in this competition as that is going to be the best thing for their development. 

“I’m excited to see the level of competition on display over the next three days as we discover out who will win the first boy’s Youth National League title.”

The boy’s and girl’s Youth National League competitions, supported with funding through partners New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) and FIFA, were launched this season to replace the previous week-long National Age Group Tournament following feedback from participants.  

View the full list of Youth National League fixtures

Article added: Thursday 13 October 2022