1999 New Zealand island soccer leagues

In 1999, two New Zealand island soccer leagues were run to replace the National Summer Soccer League which had finished at the end of the 1998 season. The two leagues, one for the North Island (the NISL) and one for the South Island (the SISL) were followed by a play-off between the two champion sides to determine the national champions. The games were mainly played during winter, in direct contrast to the previous summer league.

The format proved to be both controversial and unpopular, and from 2000 a New Zealand National Soccer League returned. Participants in the 2000 league were the top seven teams in the 1999 NISL and the top three teams in the 1999 SISL.^[1]

North Island Soccer League

Participants

Twelve teams took part in the NISL. These included five from the northern region (Central United, Melville United, Mount Wellington, North Shore United, and Waitakere City) and two from the central region (Miramar Rangers and Napier City Rovers) which had been participants in the 1998 National Summer Soccer League.

The remaining five teams were promoted from the Northern and Central Leagues (Metro were Northern League champions; Western Suburbs, Lower Hutt City, Manawatu AFC, and Wellington Olympic were first, second, fourth, and fifth respectively in the Central League). It is unclear why Waterside Karori, who finished third in the Central League, were not promoted to the NISL.^[2]

The composition of the league included five Auckland teams, four Wellington teams, plus one team each from Hamilton, Palmerston North, and Napier.

Team performance

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Central United (C) (P)	22	16	2	4	69	31	+38	50
2	Waitakere City (P)	22	13	2	7	65	47	+18	41
3	Napier City Rovers (P)	22	12	4	6	59	36	+23	40
4	Mount Wellington (P)	22	11	3	8	52	43	+9	36
5	Miramar Rangers (P)	22	10	3	9	51	46	+5	33
6	Metro (P)	22	9	4	9	32	41	−9	31
7	Manawatu (P)	22	7	8	7	30	38	−8	29
8	Western Suburbs	22	8	4	10	31	37	−6	28
9	Lower Hutt City	22	6	8	8	39	48	−9	26
10	Wellington Olympic	22	7	1	14	41	49	−8	22
11	North Shore United	22	4	8	10	36	51	−15	20
12	Melville United	22	4	3	15	24	62	−38	15

Source: ^[1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

South Island Soccer League

Participants

Eight teams took part in the SISL. These included one team from the central region (Nelson Suburbs) which had been participants in the 1998 National Summer Soccer League, and the teams which finished in the top six places in the Southern League in 1998 (Dunedin Technical, Christchurch Technical, Southland United, Northern Hearts, Woolston WMC, and Caversham). The sixth team was a new composite team, Marlborough.^[2]

The composition of the league included two teams from Christchurch, two from Dunedin, and one each from Nelson, Timaru, Blenheim, and Invercargill.

Team performance

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Dunedin Technical (C) (P)	14	10	3	1	43	15	+28	33
2	Nelson Suburbs (P)	14	10	2	2	45	23	+22	32
3	Woolston WMC (P)	14	9	2	3	43	21	+22	29
4	Caversham	14	8	0	6	37	22	+15	24
5	Christchurch Technical	14	7	1	6	33	27	+6	22
6	Southland United	14	4	2	8	28	39	−11	14
7	Northern Hearts	14	2	1	11	16	65	−49	7
8	Marlborough	14	0	1	13	18	51	−33	1

Source: ^[1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

National Final

September 8, 1999	Central United	3 – 1	Dunedin Technical	North Harbour Stadium, North Shore Referee: Bruce Grimshaw
	Elrick 3		Seales

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} [1]
2. ^ ^{a b} [2]