New Zealand Football’s women’s National League Championship will be expanding for the 2023 season, including the addition of Wellington Phoenix’s reserve side. 

The league will grow from eight to ten teams and switch to a single round robin competition followed by a grand final, the same structure as the men’s National League Championship. 

As piloted in 2022, the 2023 women’s competition will operate a hybrid model with both club and federation-run sides.

The 2023 competition will feature:
 

• Four club sides qualifying from the Lotto Northern Region Football League

• Three federation sides (one Central Football, two Capital Football) to be delivered in partnership with club sides from the regions

• Two federation sides representing the South Island, Canterbury United Pride and Southern United, to be delivered by Mainland Football and Southern Football

• Wellington Phoenix reserves will be granted an automatic qualification spot, as in the men’s competition, to support the youth development of the A-League Women side

The competition will move to a fully club-based model, the same as the three regional leagues of the men’s competition, when club capability allows. This is provisionally targeted for 2024/2025 in the Central and Capital federations and 2026 for the Mainland and Southern federations. 

To further support the future move to a fully club-based competition, 2023 will also see the Mainland and Southern federations jointly deliver a South Island league. While it will not form part of the qualifying process for the National League Championship, it will act as a pilot for future incorporation into the league, as the Southern League does for the men’s competition. 

Daniel Farrow, General Manager of Football at New Zealand Football, sees this as a big step on the way to having a fully club-based women’s league:

“The feedback we had from the 2022 women’s National League Championship was that participants want to move to a club-based competition as soon as possible. 

“This change is part of New Zealand Football’s ‘Bridging the Gap’ project which will see the competition transition to a club-based model, the same as the men’s league, over time whilst still having the support of federation sides. 

“It is now the job of New Zealand Football and the federations to work with clubs across the country to ensure that they have sufficient capability and youth development, through tools like our Club Licensing programme, to deliver a fully club-based women’s competition as soon as competitively possible.”

Article added: Thursday 09 March 2023