The wait is over for football fans in New Zealand's largest city. Video / Supplied
Auckland clubs are upset by the sudden rule changes made by Northern Region Football (NRF) just days before the start of the season to accommodate the entry of the Auckland FC reserves.
This week, the governing body, backed by New Zealand Football, notified clubs that the inclusion of Auckland FC reserves in the NZF National League competition framework would significantly alter the promotion/relegation dynamics for the Lotto NRFL competition pathway in the men’s divisions.
The amendment of the rules and regulations for the end of the 2024 season affects all levels of the Lotto NRFL competition system, including four leagues and 40 clubs.
Aaron Carson, chairman of Fencibles United in East Auckland, told the Herald the changes are a huge disappointment.
“All the clubs are prepared to change as required to accommodate Auckland FC, we just need to prepare for that over a year,” Carson said.
“It’s absolutely devastating because we haven’t just started our preparation this week - most clubs who are vying for promotion started their preparation before Christmas based off the [original] regulations.
“That really good opportunity [of promotion] has now been taken away.”
A number of clubs approached by the Herald did not want to comment publicly but communicated their disappointment at the changes.
In the 2024 Northern League, the bottom two teams (11th and 12th place) will be automatically relegated to the Championship. However, a contentious change has been introduced whereby the 10th-placed team in the Northern League will now face the second-placed team in the Lotto NRFL Championship in a two-legged playoff to determine participation in the 2025 Northern League.
The Northern Region Football letter sent to clubs informing them of updates regarding the inclusion of Auckland FC in the NZF National League competition framework.
This system will revert to the traditional two-up-two-down model in 2025, with Auckland FC enjoying protected status and exemption from relegation. If Auckland FC occupies one of the bottom two spots, the 10th-placed team will face relegation instead.
Fencibles - who are in the Championship, seeking promotion into the Northern League - made a decision ahead of this season to move their men’s first coach to a fulltime director of football role and hired a separate head coach to help give them their best shot at the Northern League.
Carson said if they had known about the changes a year ago, they might have stuck with their previous arrangement.
“That is how big the decision is,” he said. “We are probably talking a $60,000 decision on our club alone.
Auckland City FC were the Northern League champions last season. Photo / Photosport
Albany United president Keiron Henare told the Herald: “It is frustrating for the second year in a row the league rules have been changed almost without warning and this time zero consultation.
“[I] fully support and am excited for AFC and have already put my deposits down for season tickets, but it is hard for clubs who are volunteer-run by people in spare time to try and absorb this change without warning and understand the full impacts before kickoff,” he said.
Metro FC chairman Antony Owens told the Herald: “Auckland FC aren’t to blame, it’s the lack of communication [from Northern Region Football and NZF] and in the sense of just three days out from the season.
“Had they let us know in January, it would have been fine. We would have just lived with it, but it’s the three days out that’s the kick in the teeth.”
Owens said if they’d had more time, they would have looked for more sponsorship, started training earlier and considered the balance of their squad.
“It’s an amateur game run by volunteers, at my club, there’s no fulltime staff.”
Metro has been on the brink of Championship relegation the last few seasons and Owens said these changes are a “worst-case scenario”.
“Everything changes, the risk factor goes up and the pressure on the coaches goes up.”
Carson added he was blindsided by the decisions considering there had been so many good-faith, open discussions.
“It had been a collaborative approach between clubs and the superior organisations.”
The Herald understands there was a meeting between clubs and the governing bodies roughly six weeks ago where they proposed and almost settled on a completely different structure.
During the meeting, it was widely agreed the Northern League should incorporate Auckland FC reserves as the 13th team in 2025. They would subsequently introduce new promotion-relegation rules for the local leagues. This structure was the approach preferred by Auckland FC, who had no involvement in the decision.
Carson interpreted this as a decision made by NZF, displaying complete disregard for the clubs as they overrode the federation’s authority.
“There’s a big void already between the clubs and NZF and this has just made it a lot wider,” he said.
In a joint statement New Zealand Football and Northern Region Football told the Herald, “NRF and NZF are taking time to listen to clubs on changes to this year’s promotion and relegation for Northern League and Lotto NRFL competitions, and will share an update after thoroughly considering the feedback we’ve received.”
With NRF competitions set to kick off this weekend, leaving teams hungry from the outset to secure top positions in their respective leagues, the unexpected changes have injected new urgency and intensity, promising fierce competition and high-stakes right from the opening matches.
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a keen footballer, passionate about women’s sport and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.
