Ngongotaha AFC (nɔːŋgoʊtɑːhɑː), also known as the Villagers, is an

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

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

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 ...

. They play their home matches at Stembridge Road. They currently compete in the NRFL Southern Conference as Ngongotahā Lakes alongside

Lakes FC A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lakes FC at the end of the 2022 season to have a combined team for the 2023 season onwards.

History

1966–1977: Founding Years

Ngongotaha AFC was founded in 1966 in Rotorua, New Zealand. The club began playing its matches at Tamarahi Reserve on Stembridge Road in Ngongotahā.

1978–1994: Northern League

From 1978 to 1994 the club competed in the Northern League football structure, beginning in division four south. The club gained promotion to the third division by winning the league in 1983, dropping only 14 points in the whole season. The club remained in the third division for a further three seasons before gaining a promotion by finishing in second place in 1986. The club stayed in the second flight for eight seasons, with the best performance being a fourth-place finish in 1988. From 1989 to 1994 the performance of the team began to drop, and they finished bottom of the table with only 10 points in 1994. Following this they were relegated to the newly restructured Waikato-Bay of Plenty Premier League.

1994 – present: Federation Football

Since 1994 the club has boasted three senior men's team and one senior women's team. The first team have played in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation Premiership for the vast majority of this period. They were briefly relegated to the championship in 2008, but won the championship in 2011 gaining promotion to the premiership once again. The reserves currently play in the championship. In 2014 the club had its best ever performance in 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 ...

when they reached the round of 16. They were eliminated at home by

Melville United Melville United AFC is an amateur football club in Melville, Hamilton, New Zealand. It competes in the Northern League. History The club was formed in 1996 from the merger of Melville AFC (founded 1972) and Waikato United (founded 1988). The ...

. In 2016 the club won their maiden Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation Premiership title with three games in hand and unbeaten. They won a playoff series against the winners of the Auckland Football Federation/Northland Football Federation Men's Conference winners later in 2016. For three seasons they played in the Northern League division 2, but were relegated in 2019 and now play in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation Premiership.

Club Achievements

Club Honours

* Champions – Northern League Division Four South 1983 * Runners Up – Northern League Division Three South 1986 * Knockout Winners – Northern League Division Two 1987 * Champions – Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation Championship 2011 * Runners Up – Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation Premiership 2015 * Champions - Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation Premiership 2016

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ngongotaha AFC Official Website
nbsp;– For fixtures, results and more information find Ngongotaha AFC on Facebook. Association football clubs in New Zealand Association football clubs established in 1966 Sport in the Bay of Plenty Region 1966 establishments in New Zealand