NZ Football chief says it makes ‘absolute sense’ to have South Island host a third A-League club
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
New Zealand Football is confident commercial backers can be found for a South Island-based A-League club if Australian authorities decide to expand the competition.
Chief executive Andrew Pragnell told The Press that a South Island club remains an important strategic aim for NZ Football.
The A-League has yet to agree to expansion, but Australian Professional APL) Leagues chief Steve Rosich told The Press in April that Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium was a fantastic stadium which could potentially put the city’s “nose in front’’ if a third New Zealand club was invited to join Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix in the A-League stable.
Pragnell said NZF had a critical role to play in making a South Island team a reality.
“If you look at New Zealand from a geographical perspective, it makes absolute sense, if we are in with the A-League, and we are, there has to be a South Island team.”
South Island United - an entity formed by Christchurch United - is a professional team involved in the short-season Oceania Pro League, but the region has never had an A-League involvement outside occasionally hosting well-attended Wellington Phoenix games.
But the A-League is a higher level, professionally, and Pragnell believes there needs to be a third Kiwi club because the football infrastructure and fandom is there.
It is seen as an important stepping stone on the professional pathway to developing more players for top overseas leagues to the benefit of the All Whites and Football Ferns and for grass roots clubs who reap a share of transfer fees through Fifa Solidarity Grants.
Several Waikato clubs collectively pocketed a “significant seven-figure sum’’ from Chris Wood’s $25 million transfer to Newcastle United in 2022.
“We know obviously that the South Island has a fantastic football legacy, it’s responsible for producing some of our best players ever and some of our rising stars too, both in the All Whites and [Football] Ferns,” Pragnell said, citing All Whites defender Finn Surman, who is “inevitably’’ heading to a top league in Europe.
“One of the problems, historically, has been a lack of infrastructure, but Christchurch and Dunedin have some of the best sporting infrastructure in the country right now,” Pragnell said. “That’s a really important foundation for this project.”
New A-League licences, which have reportedly cost between $A15 million and $A25 million, have traditionally been a barrier unless an investor with deep pockets, like Auckland FC’s billionaire backer Bill Foley, can be attracted.
Christchurch United president Slava Meyn was once interested in joining a consortium to bid for a South Island A-League team, but he later dismissed it as unsustainable and switched focus to the Oceania Pro League.
But Pragnell believes a South Island team would attract a backer.
“Once we get parties agreed, the final part of the jigsaw is investors, but i actually don’t think that is a concern at all,’’ he said, citing the “number of high net-worth individuals” particularly in the South Island and the rise and growth of football.
Investment was a critical part of the jigsaw but he was confident “the final piece will fall into place”.
“We’ve got people who are inquiring with us right now. We are saying ‘let’s take the time to do this right’.”
Rosich didn’t rule out a South Island team in his April interview, saying: “The trans-Tasman competition we have now is fantastic and one of the options that will no doubt be considered in the future is ‘can we add a New Zealand team’? I know there will be a serious conversation in time.”
NZF have already announced a first international at One NZ Stadium when the All Whites host India in November.
Pragnell said they intend to bring the APL and Football Federation “back to that stadium when it’s full”.