Metro F.C. is a

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 count ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club, based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, that will compete in the

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 The Northern Regional Football League Division One, currently known as Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 for sponsorship reasons, is a semi-professional New Zealand association football league competition. The league includes football clubs lo ...

for the 2020 season, after winning promotion from

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2 The Northern Regional Football League Division 2, currently known as Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2 for sponsorship reasons, is a New Zealand amateur football league. The league is run by the Auckland Football Federation and includes foot ...

during the 2019 season. The club was known as Metro College until the 1980s. They were members of the former top premier

football league the

New Zealand National Soccer League The New Zealand National League is the name given to the current New Zealand top football competition. Originally set up as the New Zealand National Soccer League there has been many versions of the competition as well as many different names. Th ...

which ended in 2004 to give way to the

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 ...

. The senior team is led by Nathan Christie;– an experienced coach both as a head coach and assistant coach, Nathan Christie took over in the 2018 season after the club was relegated to

after the 2017 season. The club has a good history of playing at one of the two top level football leagues in

after the

, they have also won one of the top leagues in New Zealand football the Northern League in the 1998 season and also managing to set a record of scoring the most goals in any match of the top New Zealand football national cup the

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier 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 Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...

demolishing Norwest 21–0.

History

Metro was formed in 1899 as the Tabernacle-Metropolitan Club by parishioners of the local Baptist Church, and claims to Auckland's second-oldest existing club after

North Shore United North Shore United Association Football Club is an amateur football club based in the North Shore, Auckland. They compete in the Northern League, where they last won the competition in 2019. Their home ground is Allen Hill Stadium, which is lo ...

(which was founded in 1898). The club shortened its name to Metropolitan in 1921. Following amalgamation with College United in 1929 it changed its name to Metro College; the name was finally shortened to Metro in 1986. The club's home ground is Phyllis Street Reserve in Mount Albert,

, where it has been based since 1950.Club website history page
Metro jointly hold the record for the largest ever victory in any stage of the

. In 1991, they demolished Norwest 21–0, a record since equalled in 2005 by

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 changed ...

(coincidentally also against Norwest). Metro have twice reached the semi-finals of the cup, in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, but have yet to play in a final.

Youth team & Academy

Metro F.C. are known for their strong youth teams and organised academy system; The club's U-19 team had seen them reaching the Finals of the 2009 Auckland Football Federation U-19 tournament qualifications only to lose 2–1 to

Mangere United Mangere United is a community football club football (soccer) club in Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand. They are currently a member of the Auckland Football Federation. In 2018, Mangere United went in a partnership with fellow South Auckland cl ...

U-19 team for a place at the top football national youth tournament in New Zealand the 2009 Napier National U-19 Championships where they had secured 2nd place and had qualified for the tournament then later going on to reach the semi-finals of the 2009 Napier National U-19 Championship Satellite(2nd tier).

Honours

References

External links

Official websiteAuckland Football Federation
{{WUclubs Association football clubs in Auckland Association football clubs established in 1899 1899 establishments in New Zealand