Northern League (New Zealand)

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier

Countries	New Zealand
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Founded	1965
Number of teams	10
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 "NO Relegation in 2010 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier season"
Domestic cup(s)	Chatham Cup
Current champions	East Coast Bays (2010)
Most championships	Takapuna AFC (4)
TV partners	Prime (New Zealand) FTN - Family Television Network TVNZ (Highlights only) Sky Network Television (Playoffs only)
Website	Auckland Football Federation
2011 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier Auckland Football Federation Logo

The Northern Region Football League, or Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier for sponsorship reasons, is a professional/semi-professional New Zealand association football (soccer) league competition that is run by the Auckland Football Federation. The NRFL is at the First level of New Zealand Football, along with the franchise-based ASB Premiership, and includes soccer clubs located in the northern part of the North Island, New Zealand. It is open to clubs from the Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty provinces.

Overview and changes from previous season

Team changes in 2011

The 2011 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier season the League had eight clubs, down from ten in the 2009 season and the 2010 season also saw it include clubs from US1 Premiership in a reforming procedure to the League. The 2011 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier season has returned to a 10 team structure with Onehunga Sports and Hamilton Wanderers being included in the league after their promotions from the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1.

History

See also: Soccer in New Zealand

The first Four Years (1965–1969)

The symbol of supremacy in Northern League football, the Northern Premier League trophy.

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 the highest level 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 October), while the ASB Premiership runs between the New Zealand spring and summer months (November to April).

Sponsors

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

Current

• Kia Motors 2010-2011, (marketing partner)
• Lotto Sport Italia 2008–2012, (primary sponsor)
• ASB Bank 2010-2011, (marketing partner)
• Prime (New Zealand) 2010–2011, (TV channel), (TV partner)
• FTN - Family Television Network 2010–2011, (TV channel), (TV partner)
• TVNZ 2010-2011,(TV channel), (official TV sponsor)
• Sky Network Television 2009–present, (TV channel), (TV partner - For national & international broadcasting)

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier Clubs – 2011

Club	Location	Home Ground(s)
Bay Olympic	New Lynn, New Zealand	Olympic Park Sports Ground (3,500)
Central United	Auckland, New Zealand	Kiwitea Street Stadium (5,000)
East Coast Bays AFC	North Shore City, New Zealand	Bay City Park Stadium (4,000)
Forrest Hill Milford	Forrest Hill, New Zealand	Becroft Park Stadium (3,000)
Hamilton Wanderers	Hamilton, New Zealand	Porritt Stadium (2,700)
Melville United	Melville, New Zealand	Gower Park Sports Ground (5,000)
Metro F.C.	Mount Albert, New Zealand	Phyllis Street Reserve (4,500)
Onehunga Sports	Onehunga, New Zealand	Waikaraka Park Sports Ground (3,000)
Three Kings United	Three Kings, New Zealand	Keith Hay Park Sports Ground (5,000)
Waitakere City F.C.	Waitakere City, New Zealand	Fred Taylor Park Stadium (10,000)

League table

2010 Final league standings

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Goal Difference	Points
East Coast Bays AFCC	24	12	2	5	38	16	22	56
Central UnitedQ	24	10	5	4	32	23	9	44
Waitakere City F.C.Q	24	9	5	6	36	25	11	44
Melville UnitedQ	24	10	6	3	25	22	3	42
Forrest Hill Milford	24	9	7	3	32	35	-3	42
Three Kings United	24	8	7	4	31	23	8	41
Bay OlympicR	24	7	8	5	36	33	3	38
Metro F.C.R	24	5	3	11	19	19	0	36

Top 4 qualify for the Finals Series

_{Source: Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier ^[1]}

• _{(C)=Regular season champions}
• _{(R)=Relegated to Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 ⇆ (NO Relegation in 2010 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier season)}
• _{(Q)=Qualified for the Finals Series}

Overview

HOW THE 2010 SEASON WORKED! - At completion of championship round, first-placed team is the 2010 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier champions.

No teams are relegated.

All eight teams contest the 2011 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier.^[2]

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier Golden Boot

The Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier Golden Boot is awarded annually after each season, highlighting the performances of the player who has scored the most goals.

2010

Player	Goals	Club
Luiz del Monte	18	Three Kings United
Milos Nikolic	17	Central United
Damien Fonoti	15	Waitakere City F.C.
Kelly Escolme	14	Forrest Hill Milford
Sheldon Pillay	14	Forrest Hill Milford
Steven Holloway	13	Melville United

Past Champions & Current Champion

1965 - Eastern Suburbs 1966 - Eastern Suburbs 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 - TBC

Performance By Club

Club	City	Titles	Last Title
Takapuna City	Takapuna	4	1988
Central United	Auckland	3	2008
Mount Wellington	Auckland	3	1997
Hamilton Wanderers	Hamilton	3	1984
East Coast Bays	North Shore City	2	2010
Melville United	Melville	2	2009
Bay Olympic	New Lynn	2	2006

Notable players

Past or present notable players include:

Chris Wood Daniel Koprivcic Danny Hay Ivan Vicelich Ross Nicholson Kayne Vincent

Cole Tinkler Kris Bright Sean Devine

References

1. ^ Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier 2010 League Standings
2. ^ This year's tournament

External links

• Auckland Football Federation
• This year's tournament
• Northern League Honours Board