2021 in New Zealand football

Football in New Zealand
Season	2021
Men's football
National League: South Central Series	Miramar Rangers
Northern League	Auckland City
Central League	Wellington Olympic
Southern League	Cashmere Technical
Chatham Cup	Cashmere Technical
Women's football
Women's National League: South Central Series	Southern United
NRFL Women's Premier League	Eastern Suburbs
Kate Sheppard Cup	Wellington United

The 2021 season was the 131st competitive association football season in New Zealand.^{[further explanation needed]}

National teams

New Zealand men's national football team

Results and fixtures

Unofficial

13 November Unofficial friendly	Algeria A'	1–2	New Zealand	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
	Bensayah 68'	Source	de Jong 16' McCowatt 47'	Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Friendlies

9 October Friendly	Curaçao	1–2	New Zealand	Riffa, Bahrain
19:00	Janga 72'	Report	Tuiloma 9' Wood 33'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

12 October Friendly	Bahrain	0–1	New Zealand	Riffa, Bahrain
19:00		Report	Kirwan 89'	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

16 November Friendly	New Zealand	2–0	Gambia	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
20:00	Wood 36', 66'	Report		Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) Referee: Sultan Mohamed Al Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)

New Zealand women's national football team

Results and fixtures

Friendlies

14 July Friendly	Great Britain	3–0	New Zealand	Tokyo, Japan
	White Parris	Report		Stadium: Todoroki Athletics Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

23 October Friendly	Canada	5–1	New Zealand	Ottawa, Canada
15:00 UTC−4	Fleming 12' (pen.) Sinclair 41' Prince 57' Leon 75', 82'	Report	Percival 71' (pen.)	Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 16,386

26 October Friendly	Canada	1–0	New Zealand	Montreal, Canada
19:30 UTC−4	Leon 16'	Report		Stadium: Saputo Stadium

27 November Friendly	South Korea	2–1	New Zealand	Goyang, South Korea
14:00	Moore 59' (o.g.) Lim 81'	Report	Hand 25'	Stadium: Goyang Stadium

30 November Friendly	South Korea	0–2	New Zealand	South Korea
19:00		Report	Satchell 83' Rennie 85'

2020 Summer Olympics

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sweden	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	United States	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	4
3	Australia	3	1	1	1	4	5	−1	4
4	New Zealand	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	0

Source: TOCOG and FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

21 July Olympics GS	Australia	2–1	New Zealand	Tokyo, Japan
20:30 UTC+9	Yallop 20' Kerr 33'	Report	Rennie 90+1'	Stadium: Tokyo Stadium

24 July Olympics GS	New Zealand	1–6	United States	Saitama, Japan
20:30 UTC+9	Hassett 72'	Report	Lavelle 9' Horan 45' Erceg 63' (o.g.) Press 80' Morgan 88' Bott 90+3' (o.g.)	Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 Attendance: 0 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

27 July Olympics GS	New Zealand	0–2	Sweden	Rifu, Japan
17:00 UTC+9		Report	Anvegård 17' Janogy 29'	Stadium: Miyagi Stadium Attendance: 884 Referee: Laura Fortunato (Argentina)

New Zealand national under-23 football team

Results and fixtures

Friendlies

12 July Friendly	Australia	0–2	New Zealand	Ichihara, Japan
19:00 (UTC+9)		Report (NZF) Report (SW)	Wood 55' (pen.) Just 83'	Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium

15 July Friendly	Australia	1–0	New Zealand	Ichihara, Japan
18:00 (UTC+9)	Duke 3'	Report (NZF)		Stadium: ZA Oripri Stadium

2020 Summer Olympics

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	3	2	0	1	10	1	+9	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	New Zealand	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4	Advance to knockout stage
3	Romania	3	1	1	1	1	4	−3	4
4	Honduras	3	1	0	2	3	9	−6	3

Source: TOCOG and FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

22 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group B	New Zealand	1–0	South Korea	Kashima, Japan
17:00 UTC+9	Wood 70'	Report (FIFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Kashima Stadium Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)

25 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group B	New Zealand	2–3	Honduras	Kashima, Japan
17:00 UTC+9	Cacace 10' Wood 49'	Report (FIFA) Report (SW)	Palma 45' Obregón Jr. 78' Rivas 87'	Stadium: Kashima Stadium Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

28 July 2020 Summer Olympics GS Group B	Romania	0–0	New Zealand	Sapporo, Japan
17:30 UTC+9		Report (FIFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Sapporo Dome

Knockout

31 July 2020 Summer Olympics Quarter-finals	Japan	0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	New Zealand	Kashima, Japan
18:00 UTC+9		Report (FIFA) Report (SW)		Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
	Penalties
	Ueda Itakura Nakayama Yoshida		Wood Cacace Lewis McCowatt

FIFA competitions

FIFA Club World Cup

1 February 2021 (2021-02-01) First round	Al-Duhail	3–0 Awarded^{[note 1]}	Auckland City	Al Rayyan, Qatar
20:30		Report		Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium

Men's football

League	Promoted to league	Relegated from league	Expelled or Dissolved	New
Northern League	None	None	None	Northern Rovers West Coast Rangers
Central League	Wainuiomata	Stop Out	None	None
Southern League	New League

National League: South Central Series

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Miramar Rangers (C)	5	3	2	0	13	10	+3	11	Qualification to Grand Final
2	Wellington Olympic	5	3	1	1	15	13	+2	10	Qualification to Grand Final
3	Cashmere Technical	5	3	0	2	8	4	+4	9
4	Wellington Phoenix Reserves	5	2	0	3	15	8	+7	6
5	Western Suburbs	5	2	0	3	6	11	−5	6
6	Selwyn United	5	0	1	4	4	15	−11	1

Updated to match(es) played on 5 December 2021. Source: New Zealand Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head to head points; 3) Head to head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored^[5]
(C) Champions

Grand final

Sunday, 12 December 2021

14:00 NZDT

Miramar Rangers	7–2	Wellington Olympic
Simes 8' Mason-Smith 24' Whyte 27', 39' Delhommelle 52' Midgley 59' Moreira 87'	Report	Bouzoukis 19' Chote 31'

Jerry Collins Stadium, Wellington

Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh

Northern League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Auckland City (C)	18	15	1	2	63	19	+44	46	Winner of Northern League and qualification to National League Championship
2	Auckland United	19	10	5	4	42	25	+17	35	Qualification to National League Championship
3	Eastern Suburbs	19	10	4	5	31	21	+10	34
4	Birkenhead United	19	10	3	6	50	33	+17	33
5	Western Springs	18	8	4	6	44	35	+9	28
6	Bay Olympic	18	7	4	7	26	38	−12	25
7	Hamilton Wanderers	18	6	5	7	35	44	−9	23
8	Manukau United	19	5	7	7	33	35	−2	22
9	North Shore United	19	5	7	7	35	40	−5	22
10	Melville United	19	6	3	10	24	40	−16	21
11	Northern Rovers (R)	19	2	5	12	22	41	−19	11	Relegation to NRFL Division 1
12	West Coast Rangers (R)	19	3	2	14	18	52	−34	11	Relegation to NRFL Division 1

Source: Auckland Football^[6]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Goals against; 5) Head to head; 6) Disciplinary record; 7) Coin toss^[7]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Melville won 1–0, but West Coast fielded an ineligible player. Result upgraded to a 3–0 win for Melville.^[8]
North Shore won 2–0, but West Coast fielded an ineligible player. Result upgraded to a 3–0 win for North Shore.^[8]
League completed early with games still in hand due to Covid-19 and Auckland being in Level 4.^[9]

Central League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Wellington Olympic (C)	18	15	2	1	59	18	+41	47	Winner of Central League and qualification to National League Championship
2	Miramar Rangers	18	13	3	2	64	17	+47	42	Qualification to National League Championship
3	Lower Hutt City^[a]	18	13	2	3	70	26	+44	41
4	Western Suburbs	18	9	4	5	46	25	+21	31	Qualification to National League Championship
5	Wairarapa United (R)	18	6	6	6	37	44	−7	24	Withdrew before the 2022 season.^[b]
6	Waterside Karori	18	6	4	8	31	42	−11	22
7	Napier City Rovers	18	5	2	11	37	51	−14	17
8	North Wellington	18	4	4	10	46	57	−11	16
9	Petone	18	4	0	14	27	68	−41	12
10	Wainuiomata (R)	18	1	1	16	17	86	−69	4	Relegation to Capital Premier

Source: Capital Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Goals against; 5) Head to head; 6) Disciplinary record; 7) Coin toss^[12]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Lower Hutt City cannot qualify for the National League Championship phase due to their MoU with Wellington Phoenix Reserves.
^ Wairarapa United withdrew two weeks before the 2022 season and were replaced by Wellington United.^[10]^[11]

Southern League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cashmere Technical (C)	7	6	0	1	25	7	+18	18	Winner of Southern League and qualification to National League Championship
2	Selwyn United	7	4	1	2	14	12	+2	13	Qualification to National League Championship
3	South City Royals	7	4	0	3	15	16	−1	12
4	Otago University (R)	7	4	0	3	14	15	−1	12	Relegated to the FootballSouth Premier League^[a]
5	Christchurch United	7	3	1	3	20	15	+5	10
6	Coastal Spirit	7	3	0	4	12	12	0	9
7	Nelson Suburbs	7	1	1	5	10	17	−7	4
8	Green Island	7	1	1	5	11	27	−16	4

Source: Southern Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Goals against; 5) Head to head; 6) Disciplinary record; 7) Coin toss^[14]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

^ Otago University were relegated due to not meeting the requirements of the 2022 National League.^[13]

Cup Competitions

Chatham Cup

Final

6 March 2022

14:00

Cashmere Technical	4–2	Miramar Rangers
Coughlan 42' (pen.), 65' Taguchi 60', 89'	Report	O'Brien 75' Wood 84'

Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Calvin Berg

Women's football

National Women's League: South Central Series

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Southern United (C)	6	5	1	14	9	+5	15	Winner of Women's National League: South Central Series
2	Capital Football	6	4	2	15	5	+10	12
3	Canterbury United Pride	6	3	3	18	12	+6	9
4	Central Football	6	0	6	2	23	−21	0

Updated to match(es) played on 11 December 2021. Source: New Zealand Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Goals against; 5) Head to head; 6) Disciplinary record; 7) Coin toss^[16]
(C) Champions

NRFL Women's Premier League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Eastern Suburbs (C)	18	12	2	4	41	28	+13	38	Winner of Northern League and qualification to National League Championship
2	Western Springs	18	11	1	6	36	29	+7	34	Qualification to National League Championship
3	Northern Rovers	18	7	6	5	42	40	+2	27
4	Hamilton Wanderers	18	7	3	8	32	31	+1	24
5	Ellerslie	18	4	5	9	28	32	−4	17
6	Auckland United	18	3	3	12	19	38	−19	12

Updated to match(es) played on 15 August 2021. Source: Northern Region Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Goals against; 5) Head to head; 6) Disciplinary record; 7) Coin toss^[17]
(C) Champions

League completed early with two rounds remaining due to Covid-19 and Auckland being in Level 4.^[9]
There was no relegation with the league expanding to eight teams instead for 2022.^[18]

Cup Competitions

Kate Sheppard Cup

Final

27 March 2022

14:30

Hamilton Wanderers	0–1	Wellington United
	Report	Alder 56'

North Harbour Stadium, North Shore

Referee: Lindsey Robinson

New clubs

Clubs removed

Notes

^ ^a ^b In November 2021, New Zealand Football announced they had cancelled the 2021 New Zealand National League due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. In place of this, the South Central series took place. This one off competition did not count as part the National League.^[1]^[2]^[3]

^ The Al-Duhail v Auckland City match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Duhail after Auckland City withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities.^[4]

^ Played behind closed doors.^[15]

References

^ "National League Championship cancelled, new interregional competition announced and Chatham Cup moved to 2022". New Zealand Football.
^ "NZ Football cancels National League championship; one-off inter-regional competition planned". Otago Daily Times. 2 November 2021.
^ "National League Championships cancelled; one-off South Central Series scheduled". Stuff. 2 November 2021.
^ "Auckland City FC withdraw from FIFA Club World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
^ "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ Auckland Football
^ "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Two National League clubs found to have breached foreign player regulations". New Zealand Football. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Northern League season ended early and cup dates moved due to Alert Level 4 extension". New Zealand Football. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021.
^ "Wairarapa United withdraw from Central League division for 2022" (PDF). Wairarapa United. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
^ "Update to the 2022 Central League". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
^ "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ "National League & ODT Men's Southern Premiership update". FootballSouth. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
^ "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ "Kate Sheppard Cup and Chatham Cup semi-final and finals dates, broadcast information confirmed". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
^ "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
^ "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
^ "Tauranga City and West Coast Rangers set for expanded NRFL Women's Premier League in 2022". Northern Football Federation. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Canterbury United stalwart Dan Terris sad to see end of national football's provincial teams". Stuff. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2022.

[table_note_LH0.6263311331283-12] Lower Hutt City cannot qualify for the National League Championship phase due to their MoU with Wellington Phoenix Reserves.

[table_note_res_wd0.6263311331283-15] Wairarapa United withdrew two weeks before the 2022 season and were replaced by Wellington United.^[10]^[11]

[PO-18] Otago University were relegated due to not meeting the requirements of the 2022 National League.^[13]

[SCS-4] In November 2021, New Zealand Football announced they had cancelled the 2021 New Zealand National League due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. In place of this, the South Central series took place. This one off competition did not count as part the National League.^[1]^[2]^[3]

[Match_1-6] The Al-Duhail v Auckland City match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Duhail after Auckland City withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities.^[4]

[21] Played behind closed doors.^[15]

[1] "National League Championship cancelled, new interregional competition announced and Chatham Cup moved to 2022". New Zealand Football.

[2] "NZ Football cancels National League championship; one-off inter-regional competition planned". Otago Daily Times. 2 November 2021.

[3] "National League Championships cancelled; one-off South Central Series scheduled". Stuff. 2 November 2021.

[auckland-city-withdraw-5] "Auckland City FC withdraw from FIFA Club World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2023.

[7] "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[8] Auckland Football

[9] "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[breach-10] "Two National League clubs found to have breached foreign player regulations". New Zealand Football. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[terminate-11] "Northern League season ended early and cup dates moved due to Alert Level 4 extension". New Zealand Football. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021.

[13] "Wairarapa United withdraw from Central League division for 2022" (PDF). Wairarapa United. Retrieved 16 March 2022.

[Update-14] "Update to the 2022 Central League". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 16 March 2022.

[16] "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[17] "National League & ODT Men's Southern Premiership update". FootballSouth. Retrieved 24 January 2022.

[19] "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[broadcast-20] "Kate Sheppard Cup and Chatham Cup semi-final and finals dates, broadcast information confirmed". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 22 February 2022.

[22] "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

[23] "National League Regulations 2021: Article 28 - NL Format". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 9 May 2021.

[24] "Tauranga City and West Coast Rangers set for expanded NRFL Women's Premier League in 2022". Northern Football Federation. Retrieved 24 March 2022.

[remove-25] "Canterbury United stalwart Dan Terris sad to see end of national football's provincial teams". Stuff. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2022.

[A]

[note 1]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[a]

[b]

[12]

[10]

[11]

[a]

[14]

[13]

[a]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[15]