The Superclub league was a national association football league competition which ran in New Zealand from 1993 to 1995. It replaced the first incarnation of the New Zealand National Soccer League and was itself replaced by the National Summer Soccer League .
20-623: Towards the end of the 23-year history of the NZNSL's first incarnation it became obvious that some clubs were finding it difficult to recoup the costs of competing. Matters were brought to a head in 1987 when Dunedin City withdrew from the league, citing the heavy expense of travel. As the league's southernmost club, and with many of the league's sides based in Auckland, City was especially hard hit by financial concerns related to travel, and these costs proved to be
40-405: A brand new team, Hutt Valley United , who were formed as a composite side from various Hutt Valley teams including Lower Hutt City , Petone , and Stop Out all of whom kept their own sides as feeder teams to the new club. The last-placed team in the 1987 league would normally have been relegated, but Dunedin City withdrew citing the financial overheads of travel in the league, and so no team
60-423: A discouragement to other sides from the far south of the country. In order to alleviate these concerns and keep costs down, a new league set-up was devised with three regional divisions - Northern, Central, and Southern - each consisting of ten teams (in the competition's third season the central regional league had eleven teams) followed by a nationwide competition containing the top eight regional sides (three from
80-410: A row at any point. Hutt Valley United 's league debut was inauspicious, as it found itself at the foot of the table after four matches, but they managed to turn their form around enough to finish comfortably in mid table. Manurewa looked on the cards to repeat the poor form which saw them at the foot of the 1986 league table, with seven straight losses in the first part of the season. The second half of
100-467: The 5th tier of Wellington football. Wellington Diamond United was the result of the merger of Diamond and Zealandia/Wellington United in 1968. Diamond was founded as a junior football club in 1893 by members of the Star Rugby Club, who wished to play football. It became a senior team in 1895. Zealandia was founded in 1954 by Dutch immigrants, changing its name to Wellington United in 1964. In 1968
120-739: The Central League (finishing second) with Wellington City as an independent entity. The following season the club topped the table, winning promotion to Division One. The club remained there until the end of the 1977 season when they finished bottom of the ten-team division to be relegated back to Division Two. The club had two unsuccessful seasons in Division Two before merging with Wellington City permanently in 1979. Wellington Diamond United and Wellington City merged in 1986 to form Wellington City Diamond United, which soon shortened its name to Wellington United. In January 2015 Wellington United announced
140-451: The campaign saw enough of an improvement for them to limp up to tenth place and safety. Below them came Nelson United , who also barely survived. They were rooted to the table's foot until two-thirds of the way through the season. After seven games it had yet to register a point and had only scored four goals. Dunedin City survived relegation but not the bank. They led the table after one match, having beaten Miramar Rangers 5–2, but that
160-657: The club played in the Central Region's Division One, finishing fourth out ten. The club made it to the National League for the 1973 season but at the end of the following season they found themselves back in Division One. Wellington Diamond United won the National League in 1976, 1981 and 1985. Hungaria was formed in 1962 by Hungarian immigrants. The club played in the Central Region league before being invited to join
180-633: The competition that the lack of a true national league, accompanied by the greatly increased number of teams involved in the competition, resulted in a strong drop in playing standards. It was clear that New Zealand not only needed a national league, but also one which was financially stable. In an attempt to provide this, the Superclub competition was replaced in 1996 by the National Summer Soccer League . 1987 New Zealand National Soccer League The 1987 New Zealand National Soccer League
200-434: The first New Zealand National Soccer League in 1970. The team finished seventh out of eight that season, winning just three games. It was the club's only season in the National League as they forfeited their place to form a composite entry with Miramar Rangers , to be known as Wellington City, for the 1971 and 1972 seasons. Miramar withdrew after the 1971 season. In 1973 the club went solo again, this time in Division Two of
220-453: The league at the end of the season for failing to meet NZFA criteria, and three teams were promoted from the regional leagues. Somewhat controversially, this included two teams from the central region and none from the southern league, although this was partly because the southern league was undergoing restructuring. The new teams included one returning to the league ( Napier City Rovers ), one making their first appearance ( Mount Maunganui ), and
SECTION 10
#1732873343623240-511: The northern region, three from the central region, and two from the southern region), with each side playing each other side only once. This stage was then to be followed by a short knockout stage between the top four sides. Three different sides won the competition during its three years of existence. All three sides had previously won the New Zealand National Soccer League It quickly became apparent to those involved in
260-470: The season, in which they lost just one game in twenty and won all of their last seven fixtures. Keith Braithwaite hit a league record of six goals for the club in their match against Manawatu . Gisborne City held onto second place, but their season was plagued by an inability to convert tied matches into wins. A club record run of thirteen undefeated matches kept them in the title hunt. Third-placed Wellington United were capable goalscorers, totally 52, but
280-414: The table at the beginning of the season. The acrimonious sacking of coach Fred Goodwin late in the season created the wrong sort of headlines for the club. Below Papatoetoe came Napier City Rovers , finishing sixth on their first season back in the league. Napier started brightly and also briefly led the table, but had a poor second half to the season with seven defeats in their last 13 games. The top half of
300-479: The table was completed by North Shore United , who distinctly had a season of two halves. Their first 17 fixtures with only one defeat saw them riding high, and the club led the table for seven weeks, but the club's final nine matches produced a meagre five points. Mount Wellington finished in the lower half of the table for only the second time in eighteen years. Their play was entertaining but inconsistent, and they failed to string together two good performances in
320-478: The team could only manage one win from their last four games and dropped out of the race. Mount Maunganui celebrated their first appearance in the league with a creditable fourth place, and had it not been for a mid-season form slump they could have finished even higher. In a generally poor season for Auckland teams, Papatoetoe flew the Queen City's flag highest, finishing in fifth, and they were briefly on top of
340-562: Was not a single sending-off for either side in any of Manawatu's games in the 1987 league season. Miramar Rangers were the lucky team to benefit from Dunedin's woes; they could not have complained if they had been relegated, shipping 68 goals in the season and losing 18 games, ten of them on the trot. Wellington United Wellington United AFC is an association football club based in Wellington , New Zealand, that competes in Capital 3,
360-409: Was relegated. The 1987 season was close until its final stages, with six teams in with a chance to win the title with seven rounds to go, and with three teams fighting to avoid relegation at the other end of the table. At the top, Christchurch United proved stronger than the pretenders, pulling clear to win by seven clear points. Their success included an excellent run through the latter two thirds of
380-574: Was the 18th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. It was the first season in which 14 teams competed in the league, up from 12 in the previous season, and was also the first season with new sponsors Air New Zealand , leading to it being called the Air New Zealand Soccer League. Christchurch United finished as champions, seven points clear of Gisborne City . Auckland University were ejected from
400-477: Was the season's highlight, and it won just five of its remaining 25 games. The team opted to leave the league at the end of the 1987 season, citing debts caused by the long travel necessary for the league's southernmost team. The club only survived for a further handful of seasons before disbanding. Manawatu United finished one place above last for the second straight season. The team managed only one home win all season, and lost their final home game 1–8. Oddly, there
#622377