Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...

club based in the suburb of Sandringham in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in both New Zealand and Oceania, having won eight

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

titles and ten

OFC Champions League The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier men's club soccer competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been ...

titles since their foundation. Formed in 2004 following the inception of the

, Auckland City currently play their home matches at

Kiwitea Street Kiwitea Street, also known as Freyberg Field, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used for football (soccer) matches and is the home stadium of both Auckland City FC and Central United. Terra ...

in Sandringham, New Zealand. The club is the most successful in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million as ...

, having won seven consecutive

titles between 2011 and 2017 – the most consecutive continental titles of any football team in history. This has resulted in Auckland becoming a regular fixture at the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

, famously achieving a third-placed finish in the 2014 edition. Auckland City's youth team formerly played in the National Youth League, becoming the most successful team in competition history with seven titles. Auckland City's regular kit colours are faintly striped royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The current crest, in use since the club's inception, features the

Sky Tower Sky Tower, SkyTower, Skytower, or Sky Towers may refer to: Buildings In Asia * Higashiyama Sky Tower, Nagoya, Japan * Marina Sky Towers in Dubai, UAE * Sky Tower (Abu Dhabi) in Abu Dhabi, UAE * in Kowloon, Hong Kong * in Dubai, UAE * Sky Tower ...

, an iconic

landmark.

History

Auckland City has won the New Zealand Football Championship regular season eleven times, and the Grand Final eight times. They represented the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. I ...

(OFC) in the

, which they won most recently in 2017 for the ninth time (seventh in a row). With a third place in 2014, they also became the only OFC team to reach the semi-finals of the

. They are also the only team to win the

continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

three times. In 2017, Auckland City were invited to play in the

Lunar New Year Cup The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usually held on the firs ...

, a friendly tournament hosted in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...

. Auckland City defeated South Korean champions

FC Seoul FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...

in the semifinal, before defeating Hong Kong side Kitchee in the final to lift the trophy. Auckland City were again invited for the 2019 edition, falling to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

club Shandong Luneng 2–1. Following the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, in which Auckland City won all but one game in their undefeated season but fell short in both the

and the league playoffs, long-term manager

Ramon Tribulietx Ramon Tribulietx Santolaya (born 20 September 1972) is a Spanish football coach and former player. Tribulietx holds the world record for the most trophies in continental competitions, winning seven straight OFC Champions League titles with Au ...

brought his association with the club to an end and was replaced by

Team Wellington Team Wellington Football Club was a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington, New Zealand. They competed in the ISPS Handa Premiership. Team Wellington had traditionally been one of the most succ ...

coach

José Figueira José Manuel Figueira (born 9 February 1982 in Crawley, England) is an English football coach of Spanish descent, who is the current manager of Northern League club Auckland United. Figueira previously held notable roles as the head coach o ...

ahead of the 2019–20 season. After the first season of the New Zealand National League Auckland City finished 1st in the Northern League but didn't get to play in the championship phase due to COVID-19 affecting the Auckland Region. The club then announced that Albert Riera would take over as head coach for the next season.

FIFA Club World Cup

; 2009 Auckland City overcame local champions Al Ahli 2–0 in the opening play-off match, with goals by Adam Dickinson and Chad Coombes. In their quarter final clash against CONCACAF champions Atlante of Mexico, the side lost 0–3. The play-off for fifth and sixth place was described by coach Paul Posa as "the greatest night in the history of Auckland City Football Club", as the team defeated

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...

winners

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...

of the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

3–2. The goal scorers on this special occasion were Jason Hayne with two and

Riki van Steeden Riki van Steeden (born 24 December 1976) is a former professional association football player, who played as a defender. He was part of the Auckland City team at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup, and played five times for the New Zealand nation ...

. These historic victories were the first recorded by a New Zealand team at the Club World Cup, and the first by an amateur side at this tournament. This was also the first time that a senior men's representative team from New Zealand has recorded a victory in a world FIFA competition. ; 2014 Auckland City played Moroccan league champions

Moghreb Tétouan Moghreb Atletico Tetouan ( ar, المغرب أتلتيكو تطوان; acronym MAT) is a Moroccan football club based in Tetouan. MA Tétouan was founded in 1922 and used to compete in the Tétouan local compétitions till 1956 when Morocco gai ...

in a play-off for the quarter-finals on 10 December. The match finished goalless, with Auckland winning 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out and qualifying for a quarter-final clash against

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

winners

ES Sétif Entente Sportive Sétifienne ( ar, الوفاق الرياضي السطايفي), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in ...

. Auckland City defeated ES Sétif 1–0, courtesy of a

John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to ...

goal, and advanced to the semi-finals for the first time ever. Auckland played Copa Libertadores champions

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on the border betwe ...

in the semifinals, but lost 2–1. A shock seemed possible when a second-half goal from Ángel Berlanga cancelled out Pablo Barrientos' first-half strike for San Lorenzo, but substitute Mauro Matos netted San Lorenzo's winner in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. They finished the tournament with a historic 4-2

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

win over

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

winners

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

in the third-place playoff after a 1–1 draw at full time, with substitute Sanni Issa scoring the ultimate penalty just days after signing for the club. The result gained the side worldwide acclaim, as the team of part-timers and amateurs defied all expectations in the competition. Club stalwart and defender Ivan Vicelich came third in the Golden Ball award for best player at the tournament, behind

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...

and

Sergio Ramos Sergio Ramos García (; born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. Known for his aggressive play, he is widely regarded as one of the gr ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn ...

Current players and staff

First-team squad

Coaching staff

Medical staff

Managers

* Allan Jones (2004–2006) * Roger Wilkinson (2006) * Paul Marshall (2006–2007) * Colin Tuaa (2007–2008) * Paul Posa (2008–2010) * Aaron McFarland and

(2010–2011) *

(2011–2019) *

(2019–2021) * Albert Riera (2021–)

Notable former players

The following players gained international caps for their respective countries. Players listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Auckland City. * Teruo Iwamoto * Keryn Jordan * Grant Young * Liam Jordan *

Lee Ki-hyung Lee Ki-hyung (born 28 September 1974) is a South Korean football coach and former player. International career Nicknamed the "Cannon shooter", Lee was a full-back who showed the strongest shot in South Korea. He played for South Korea in the ...

* Micah Lea'alafa *

Henry Fa'arodo Henry Samuel Luito'o Fa'arodo Jr. (born 5 October 1982 in Honiara) is a former professional footballer from the Solomon Islands who played as a striker or a midfielder. Club career Fa'arodo attended Nelson College from 2000 to 2001, playing ...

* Nelson Sale Kilifa * George Suri *

Roy Krishna Roy Krishna (born 30 August 1987) is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC and the Fiji national team. Club career Early career Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship ...

* Salesh Kumar * Brian Kaltak * David Browne * James Pritchett * Cole Peverley *

Paul Urlovic Paul-Mark Urlovic (born 21 November 1978) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who played as striker for Central United FC in the NRFL Premier Division. Urlovic previously played for Auckland City in the ASB Premiership and Oceania C ...

* Nikko Boxall *

Michael Boxall Michael Joseph Boxall (born 18 August 1988) is a New Zealand footballer who currently plays for Minnesota United in Major League Soccer, and the New Zealand national football team. Early career in New Zealand For high school, Boxall attended ...

* Clayton Lewis * Tim Payne * Myer Bevan * Jacob Spoonley * Cameron Howieson * Ian Hogg *

Tom Doyle Thomas Joseph Doyle (born 30 June 1992) is a New Zealand international footballer who currently plays as a left back for Bay Olympic in the Northern League. Doyle made his senior professional debut for Wellington Phoenix FC in the 2014 FFA Cup ...

* Sean Douglas * Adam McGeorge * Jeff Campbell * Dalton Wilkins * Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi * Liam Graham * Tamati Williams * Chad Coombes * Dave Mulligan * Ryan De Vries * Ivan Vicelich * Matthew Ridenton * Moses Dyer * Kris Bright * Ross Nicholson * Jonathan Perry * Harshae Raniga * Callum McCowatt * Logan Rogerson The following foreign players made at least 50 appearances in a professional league prior to or following their time at Auckland City. * Eñaut Zubikarai * Diego Rivas * Iván Carril * Xavi Roca *

Mikel Álvaro Mikel Álvaro Salazar (born 20 December 1982) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Club Portugalete. Club career Álvaro was born in Amurrio, Álava. After spending most of his career in Segunda División B or ...

Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meanin ...

* Iván Díaz * Albert Riera * Cristóbal Márquez * Andreu Guerao * Óscar * João Moreira * Marko Đorđević * Mario Bilen * Fabrizio Tavano * Liam Jordan *

* Joel Chianese

Stadium

Freyberg Field, then a public park, was made available for use as a football field in 1965 for tenants

Central United Central United Football Club is an amateur association football (soccer) club based in Sandringham, Auckland, New Zealand who complete in the NRF Championship. The team was officially called ''Central Soccer Club'' until 1996 when it change ...

. Following intense development on what became affectionately known as Kiwitea Street, the field quickly became one of the best playing surfaces in New Zealand, and was made available to Auckland City following their foundation in 2004. Since then, the amenities at Kiwitea Street have been overhauled, including a new clubrooms and a resurfaced pitch in 2007. The stadium seats 250 spectators, with additional standing room.

Results

Domestic

Continental

;Notes *Note 1: Auckland City received a bye because Manumea were withdrawn by the

. * Note 2: Team Wellington won on away goal rule. * Note 3: On 4 September 2020, OFC announced that the knockout stage was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

International

FIFA Club World Cup

Honours

Domestic

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

::Premiers (12): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20^†, 2020–21 ::Champions (9):

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 FIFA ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, 2014,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

^†,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

^† Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–20 season was concluded after 16 rounds. 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. * Northern League ::Champions:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auck ...

::Champions:

* ASB Charity Cup ::Champions: 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 * National Youth League ::Champions: 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017

International

::Bronze Medal: 2014 *

::Champions (10):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gath ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2014,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a se ...

* OFC President's Cup ::Champions: 2014

Friendlies

* Hong Kong Lunar New Year Cup ::Champions:

References

External links

*
Auckland City FC at Soccerway
{{Sport in Auckland Association football clubs in Auckland Association football clubs established in 2004 2004 establishments in New Zealand OFC Champions League winning clubs