Country New Zealand Founded 1965 Level on pyramid 2 | Confederation OFC (Oceania) Number of teams 12 | |
Relegation to Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 | ||
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 football 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.
Contents
The first Four Years (1965–1969)
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 part of the highest level of 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
Notable players
This list consist of Past or present notable players that have either represented the New Zealand national team at the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games. This list also consist of players who have either played for New Zealand Knights FC or have played in the FIFA Club World Cup with a New Zealand football club: