Northern AFC
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| Full name | Northern Association Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Northern, The Ravens | ||
| Founded | 1888 | ||
| Ground | Caledonian Ground | ||
| Coach | Arran Wilkinson | ||
| League | Southern League | ||
| 2025 | Southern Premier League, 1st of 10 (Champions, promoted via play-offs) | ||
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Northern AFC is a football club based in the Dunedin North area of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, within the Southern Football region of the New Zealand Football structure.
The club has 10 senior teams, from Men's and Women's Premiership teams, Men's Reserves, Men's Third and Fourth grade teams, a Men's over 35s and 45s in the masters grades, and a junior club with a large number of teams from 6th grade through to Youth grade, and U15 and U17 youth development teams. The club also has an U19 team who form to compete in end of season tournaments.
The club's home ground is the Caledonian Ground, with trainings and other teams playing at Logan Park Turf, the Gardens Ground (the site of the club's clubrooms), Chingford Park, and Forrester Park, all are in the north of Dunedin.
Founded in 1888, Northern is the oldest continually operating football club in the Southern Hemisphere.[1][2]
Club history
[edit source]In 1888, two football clubs called Northern and Southern were formed in Dunedin. The Northern club played in Brown’s paddock in North Dunedin, while the Southern club played at Tahuna Park in South Dunedin. The Northern club is the one still operating today.[3]
Prior to the formation of the Southern League competition in 1968, Northern was the winner of Dunedin’s top league 14 times. Northern is one of the more successful teams in Dunedin with eight Chatham Cup Final appearances.[4] The club's proudest moments include 1959 and 1961, when they won the Chatham Cup,[5][6] as well as the National Rothman Cup in 1962.[7] Nineteen Northern players have represented New Zealand winning full international caps.
In response to low player numbers in 1972 the Senior club joined with Maori Hill FC in the interests of football in the Northern end of Dunedin, forming North End United.[8] At junior level, both Maori Hill and Northern maintained their individual identities. In 1991 it was agreed that the Senior club would revert to its historic Northern name.
In 2013, the club celebrated its 125th Jubilee. As part of the celebrations the Men’s Premiership team played Green Island FC in the first club football match to be held under the roof at Dunedin's new covered Forsyth Barr Stadium.[9]
Northern’s teams play in black and white striped shirts, black shorts and black socks, with orange and black as the official away kit colours.
Recent seasons
[edit source]Men's Southern Premiership, and Men's Southern Division One Fletcher Cup
Following a number of seasons where the club achieved limited success, and in particular some very heavy defeats in 2020, changes were made to the coaching and support staff ahead of the 2021 season. A change in approach resulted in recruiting promising local younger players, alongside experienced players like National League and Olympic representative goalkeeper Liam Little. Increased preparation and a hard work ethic resulted in improved performances and eventually results started to improve on the pitch. The Men's Southern Premiership team ended the 2021 season winning four games and drawing two games, including beating the 2020 reigning ODT Men's Southern Premiership winners Otago University AFC.
2022 saw the performances and results continue to improve. Again, young promising local players were recruited to the club, and were provided with positive environment to train, play, and develop. The Men's Southern Premiership team led the league for a long period in 2022, ending the season winning nine games and drawing four, and eventually finished in fourth place.
The steady progress made in 2022 continued into 2023 and despite some player movements in and out of the club, the Men's Premiership team continued to improve, ending the season in third place.
2023 was also a successful season for both Men's Southern Football Fletcher Cup and Men's Southern Football Division Two teams. The Fletcher Cup team finished runners-up in the league and played in the final of the Chinese Charity Cup, and the Southern Football Division Two team won the league.
In 2025 Northern continued their strong performances winning the Southern Premier League for the first time alongside their first trophy in 49 years. Alongside this they won all 16 matches in the league while also being promoted via the playoffs to the Southern League.[1][10]
Women's ODT Southern Premiership
2022 saw the Women's Premiership team return to the ODT Women's Southern Premiership. The team finished sixth.
U-15 and U-17 Youth Development League Squads
Northern have an U-15 team in the Football South Regional Development League which is a top Youth league in the Southern region involving teams from Dunedin, South Canterbury, Central Otago/Lakes, and Southland. The U-17 team playing locally in the Dunedin competition. The club also has an U19 team who form to compete in end of season tournaments.
Players
[edit source]| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK |  NZ | Eli Urwin |
| 2 | Def | NZ | Luke Williams |
| 3 | Mid |  GER | Janic Gorman |
| 4 | Mid | NZ | Zac Baird-Hodge |
| 5 | Def | NZ | Angus Brett |
| 6 | Def | NZ | Luka Mandich (C) |
| 7 | Mid | NZ | Sam Cosgrove |
| 8 | Mid | NZ | Cameron McPhail |
| 9 | Fwd | NZ | Toby Orchiston |
| 10 | Fwd | NZ | Rory Hibbert |
| 11 | Def | NZ | Amasio Jutel |
| 12 | Def | NZ | Louis Gray |
| 13 | Fwd | NZ | Alex Dale |
| 14 | Def | NZ | Asti Wallace |
| 15 | Fwd | NZ | Nick Treadwell |
| 19 | Mid | NZ | Isaac Simons |
Notable former players
[edit source]Coaches and officials
[edit source]| Name | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Arran Wilkinson | Coach | Men's Southern Premiership |
| Grace Teah | Coach | Women's Southern Premiership |
| Craig Wilkinson | Assistant Coach | Men's Southern Premiership |
| Wayne Henderson | Coach | Men's Fletcher Cup |
| Nick Currie | Manager | Men's Southern Premiership |
| Aaron Warrington | President | Committee |
| Sandy Gorman | President | Committee |
| Tony Galloway | Junior Delegate | Committee |
| Terry Hibbert | Senior Delegate | Committee |
| Moreton Dacombe-Bird | Club Captain | Committee |
Federation Awards
[edit source]In 2023 Northern FC were nominated for five awards at the Southern Football Senior Awards evening:
| Award | Name | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sports Person of the Year (Male) | Matt Johnstone | Nominated |
| Young Male Player of the Year | Rory Hibbert | Nominated |
| Female Coach of the Year | Grace Teah | Nominated |
| Female Personality of the Year | Kirsten Pram | Nominated |
| Club President of the Year | Aaron Warrington and Kirsten Pram | Winner |
References
[edit source]- 1 2 "Northern lift first league trophy in 49 years to win Southern Premier League," Friends of Football, 10 August 2025.
- ↑ "About". Northern AFC. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ "History". Northern AFC. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ "Northern". ultimatenzsoccer.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ Kungler, Peter; Zlotkowski, Andre (30 May 2004). "New Zealand 1959". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ Kungler, Peter; Zlotkowski, Andre (16 October 2014). "New Zealand 1961". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ Kungler, Peter; Zlotkowski, Andre; King, Ian (16 October 2014). "New Zealand 1962". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ "Maori Hill". ultimatenzsoccer.com. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ↑ Smith, Rab (1 April 2013). "Football: Green Island spoils party". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
- ↑ "Northern complete unbeaten season to win promotion to Southern League". friendsoffootballnz.com. 4 October 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
External links
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