The draw has been released for the National League Championship 2023, Aotearoa New Zealand’s top domestic football competition. 

Download the 2023 draw

Kicking off on 23 September, for the first time both the men’s and women’s competitions will feature 10 teams, each playing nine rounds, before a double-header Grand Final on Sunday 26 November. 

The women’s competition will operate a hybrid model for the 2023 season with club sides, club and federation partnership teams, and federations teams represented, with a view to moving to a fully club-based league in future years. 

For the Capital Football region, teams will be delivered in partnership between the federation and club sides Wellington United and Waterside Karori. 

For the competition, the teams will be referred to as Capital Football Wellington United (styled as CF Wellington United) and Capital Football Waterside Karori (styled as CF Waterside Karori). 

The women’s competition also sees Wellington Phoenix Reserves allocated a spot for the first time, the same as for the men’s competition. 

The women’s competition will feature:

Lotto NRFL Women’s Premiership qualifiers: league winners Auckland United, 2022 National League Championship winners Eastern Suburbs, Western Springs and first-time qualifiers Ellerslie

Club and federation partnership teams: CF Waterside Karori and CF Wellington United

Federation teams: Canterbury United Pride, Central Football and Southern United

Allocated spot: Wellington Phoenix Reserves

The men’s competition will feature:

Northern League qualifiers: league winners and 2022 National League Championship winners Auckland City FC, Auckland United, Eastern Suburbs and first-time qualifiers Manurewa AFC

Central League qualifiers: Napier City Rovers, league winners Wellington Olympic and first-time qualifiers Petone FC

Southern League qualifiers: league winners Christchurch United and Cashmere Technical

Allocated spot: Wellington Phoenix Reserves

Article added: Tuesday 12 September 2023