The 2019–20 New Zealand Football Championship season (currently known as the ISPS Handa Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the NZFC since its establishment, in 2004. Ten teams compete in the competition with Eastern Suburbs and Auckland City representing the ISPS Handa Premiership in the 2020 OFC Champions League after finishing Champions (Eastern Suburbs) and Premiers (Auckland City) respectively in the 2018–19 competition.
Clubs Team Location Stadium Capacity Manager Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorAuckland City Auckland Kiwitea Street 3,250 José Figueira Kappa Trillian Trust Inc (Front) Carters (Back)Canterbury United Christchurch English Park 9,000 Lee Padmore Nike Robbie's Bar and BistroEastern Suburbs Auckland Madills Farm 5,000 Tony ReadingsLilywhites Winger MotorsHamilton Wanderers Hamilton Porritt Stadium 5,000 Kale Herbert Kelme The Soccer ShopHawke's Bay United Napier Bluewater Stadium 5,000 Chris Greatholder Bill Robertson Adidas Thirsty WhaleSouthern United Dunedin Sunnyvale Park 1,000 Paul O'ReillyLotto Sport Italia Freshwater SolutionsTasman United Nelson Trafalgar Park 18,000 Jess Ibrom NikeNelson Pine LVL (Front) Sprig & Fern (Back)Team Wellington Wellington David Farrington Park 2,250 Scott HalesNike Stonewood HomesWaitakere United Auckland The Trusts Arena 4,900 Chris Milicich Lotto Sport Italia Mitre 10 Mega - Henderson (Front) Heritage Hotels (Back)Wellington Phoenix Wellington Porirua Park 1,900 Paul Temple Adidas Huawei
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position on table Incoming manager Date of appointment Hamilton Wanderers Ricki Herbert Resigned 4 December 2019 10th Kale Herbert 4 December 2019
Regular season
League table On 18 March 2020, New Zealand Football announced that the 2019–20 New Zealand Football Championship season had been concluded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining two rounds of the regular season and the finals series were cancelled. Auckland City, who were leading the regular season table, were declared champions and also awarded the Minor Premiership, and qualified for the 2021 OFC Champions League together with Team Wellington, who were at second place in the regular season table.
Positions by round
Notes: Southern United beat Tasman United 4–0 in round 1, however it was ruled by NZ Football that they had played an ineligible player so forfeited the result. This meant the win was awarded as a 3–0 result to Tasman United.
Fixtures and results The season was scheduled to be played on a home and away basis between November 2019 and March 2020, with the finals series being played in April 2020.
Round 1
*Southern United beat Tasman United 4–0 however it was ruled by NZ Football that they had played an ineligible player so forfeited the result. This meant the win was awarded as a 3–0 result to Tasman United.
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Finals series
Semi-finals
Grand final
Statistics
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals 1 Myer Bevan Auckland City 13 2 Martín Bueno Eastern Suburbs 103 Ahinga Selemani Hawke's Bay United8 Hamish Watson Team Wellington 5 Derek Tieku Hamilton Wanderers 76 Ollie Bassett Team Wellington6 Jean-Philippe Saiko Tasman United Dane Schnell Waitakere United9 Reid Drake Eastern Suburbs5 Byron Heath Wellington Phoenix Reserves George King Canterbury United Ahmed Othman Wellington Phoenix Reserves Jack-Henry Sinclair Team Wellington
Hat-tricks Round Player For Against Result Date Ref 1 Myer Bevan Auckland City Waitakere United 3–2 2 November 2019 2 Dylan Sacramento Hawke's Bay United Wellington Phoenix Reserves 3–4 10 November 2019 2 Blake Driehuis Wellington Phoenix Reserves Hawke's Bay United 3–4 10 November 2019 5 Joel Stevens Southern United Hawke's Bay United 5–2 1 December 2019 12 Martín Bueno Eastern Suburbs Southern United 6–0 2 February 2020
References
External links ISPS Handa Premiership website