Wellington United AFC 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
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, New Zealand, that competes in the
Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...
.
History
Wellington Diamond United
Wellington Diamond United was the result of the merger of Diamond and Zealandia/Wellington United in 1968.
Diamond was founded as a junior football club in 1893 by members of the Star Rugby Club, who wished to play football. It became a senior team in 1895.
Zealandia was founded in 1954 by Dutch immigrants, changing its name to Wellington United in 1964.
In 1968 the club played in the Central Region's Division One, finishing fourth out ten. The club made it to the National League for the 1973 season but at the end of the following season they found themselves back in Division One.
Wellington Diamond United won the
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 ...
in 1976, 1981 and 1985.
[Wellington United profile at UltimateNZSoccer.com]
/ref>
Hungaria and Wellington City
Hungaria was formed in 1962 by Hungarian immigrants. The club played in the Central Region league before being invited to join the first 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 ...
in 1970. The team finished seventh out of eight that season, winning just three games. It was the club's only season in the National League as they forfeited their place to form a composite entry with Miramar Rangers
Miramar Rangers AFC is an amateur New Zealand association football club in the Wellington suburb of Miramar. The club is one of the most successful in New Zealand having won the Chatham Cup four times and the National League title twice. Over t ...
, to be known as Wellington City, for the 1971 and 1972 seasons. Miramar withdrew after the 1971 season.
In 1973 the club went solo again, this time in Division Two of the Central League (finishing second) with Wellington City as an independent entity. The following season the club topped the table, winning promotion to Division One. The club remained there until the end of the 1977 season when they finished bottom of the ten-team division to be relegated back to Division Two. The club had two unsuccessful seasons in Division Two before merging with Wellington City permanently in 1979.
Wellington United
Wellington Diamond United and Wellington City merged in 1986 to form Wellington City Diamond United, which soon shortened its name to Wellington United.Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
. The partnership has the Academy and Premiers ( ISPS Handa Premiership
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 ...
) able to play through the winter in the Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...
as Wellington United. Wellington Phoenix Announce Strategic Partnership With Wellington United
Retrieved: 9 December 2017
New Zealand Representatives
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Julius Beck
Julius Beck ( hu, Beck Gyula) is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.
Beck made a solitary official international appearance for New Zealand in a 4–0 loss to New Caledonia
)
, anthem ...
(Hungaria)
*
Grahame Bilby (Wellington City)
*
Paul Cameron
Paul Drummond Cameron (born November 9, 1939) is an American psychologist. Cameron has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-gay extremist. While employed at various institutions, including the University of Nebraska–Li ...
(Wellington City)
*
Malcolm Dunford (Wellington Diamond United)
*
Don Finlayson
Donald Finlayson is a former association football goalkeeper who represented New Zealand at international level.
Finlayson made a solitary official A-international appearance for New Zealand, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3–2 wi ...
(Wellington Diamond United)
*
Bill Harris (Wellington Diamond United)
*
Imre Kiss (Hungaria)
*
Eric Lesbirel
Eric Lesbirel (born 1951) is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.
Lesbirel played two official A-international matches for the New Zealand in 1977, both against New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ...
(Wellington Diamond United)
*
Istvan Nemet
Istvan Nemet ( hu, Németh István) is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.
National Youth Career:
1954–1957 Yugoslavia Serbia
– National caps = 5
– National goals = 15
Istvan Ste ...
(Hungaria)
*
Garry Paddison
Gary Paddison is a former football (soccer) player who represented New Zealand at international level.
Paddison made 4 appearances and a solitary official international starting appearance for New Zealand in a 1–1 draw with Macao
Mac ...
(Wellington Diamond United)
*
John Raat
John Raat is a former football (soccer) player who represented New Zealand at international level.
Raat played two official A-international matches for the New Zealand in 1960, both against Pacific minnows Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; p ...
(Diamond)
*
Wynton Rufer
Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...
(Wellington Diamond United)
*
Jeff Strom
Jeff Strom is a footballer who represented New Zealand at international level.
Strom made his full All Whites debut in a 5–1 win over Kuwait on 16 October 1980 and ended his international playing career with 14 A-international caps to his c ...
(Wellington Diamond United)
*
Grant Turner
*
Garry Welch
Garry Welch is a former football (soccer) player who had 165 national league appearances for Stop Out and Wellington Diamond United and also represented New Zealand at international level.
Welch played three official full internationals for New ...
(Wellington Diamond United)
References
External links
Official websiteCapital Football profile
{{twclubs
Association football clubs in Wellington
Sport in Wellington City
Association football clubs established in 1986
1986 establishments in New Zealand