# Canterbury Championship League

The Canterbury Championship League, also known as New World Canterbury Championship League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition run by Mainland Football for association football clubs located in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is at the fourth tier of New Zealand Football, below the Canterbury Premiership League and above the Canterbury Senior Men's Division 1.
The competition currently runs between March and August each year, and consists of ten team based in Christchurch. There are 18 round where the teams play each other twice. The winner of the league is promoted to the Canterbury Premiership League and last place is relegated to Canterbury Senior Men's Division 1.

## History

In March 2021, after New Zealand Football announced the changes to the structure of both the premiership and the top regional leagues around the country, Mainland Football changed the Canterbury Championship League for the 2022 season. The change was, 3 pools of six team, consisting of six Canterbury Southern League U20 Reserve teams, five Canterbury Premiership Reserve teams, six Division 1 teams, and one first team. The winners of; pool A were Selwyn United U20 Reserves, pool B were Christchurch United U20 Academy, and pool C were Coastal Spirit U20 Reserves. The top 3 teams from each pool plus Halswell United Reserves, played a 9 game Senior Men's Division 1 Championship with Cashmere Technical U20 Reserves winning.
In 2023, 2022 Senior Men's Division 1 Championship winners Cashmere Technical U20 Reserves and runners-up Nomads United U20 Reserves were both promoted to the Canterbury Premiership League. Seven of the ten teams were promoted to Canterbury Championship, followed by the addiction of Ferrymead Bays Keen Lads, University of Canterbury 3rd XI and Waimakariri United Reserves. Christchurch United U20 Academy won the 2023 league thus being promoted to the Premiership, followed by Ferrymead Bays U20 Reserves and Selwyn United U20 Reserves for the following season.
In 2024, Cashmere Technical U20 Reserves and Nomads United U20 Reserves both returned to the league following the success of having a reserve team in the Premiership, they were invited to add a team to the Championship. They also welcomed Selwyn United Turkeys with the success of winning Senior Men's Division 1 and 2 in the last two years. On 2 May, 4 matches into the season, Nomads United U20 Reserves were withdrawn from the competition after failing to field a team three games in a row, with one game being a postponement against University of Canterbury 3rd XI and the other two games being defaults against Selwyn United Turkeys and Coastal Spirit U20 Reserves. All wins and game results against Nomads United U20 Reserves have been voided, even Nomads only game against Cashmere Technical U20 Reserves, 0–8 win for Cashmere Technical.

## Canterbury Championship League teams

As of 2024 season.
| Team | Home Ground | Location | 2023 season |
| Cashmere Technical (U) | Garrick Memorial Park | Woolston | 2nd in Premiership (Added/Relegated) |
| Coastal Spirit (U) | Linfield Park | Bromley | 6th |
| FC Twenty 11 (U) | Avonhead Park | Avonhead | 7th |
| Ferrymead Bays Keen Lads | Ferrymead Park | Ferrymead | 5th |
| Halswell United (R) | Halswell Domain | Halswell | 10th |
| Nomads United (U) (W) | Tulett Park | Casebrook | 3rd in Premiership (Added/Relegated) |
| Selwyn United Turkeys | Foster Park | Rolleston | 1st in Division 1 (Promoted) |
| University of Canterbury (U) | Ilam Field | Ilam | 4th |
| University of Canterbury (T) | Ilam Field | Ilam | 8th |
| Waimakariri United (R) | Kendal Park | Kaiapoi | 9th |
    (R) — Denotes club's Reserve team
    (T) — Denotes club's Third team
    (U) — Denotes club's Under 20 Reserve team
    (W) — Withdrawn from the league

## Winners

Canterbury Champions League:

### 2016-2021

* 2016 - Nomads United
* 2017 - Selwyn United
* 2018 - Western
* 2019 - Christchurch United
* 2020 - Halswell United
* 2021 - Western
| Club | Number of Titles | Year(s) Won |
| Western | 2 | 2018, 2021 |
| Nomads United | 1 | 2016 |
| Selwyn United | 1 | 2017 |
| Christchurch United | 1 | 2019 |
| Halswell United | 1 | 2020 |

### 2023-

* 2023 - Christchurch United U20
* 2024 - University of Canterbury 2nd
| Club | Number of Titles | Year(s) Won |
| Christchurch United U20 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Canterbury 2nd | 1 | 2024 |

## Whero Cup

The Whero Cup, is an annual Mainland Football knockout football competition for Canterbury Championship League, Senior Men's Division 1 and Canterbury Premiership League's Reserve teams. First played during the 2023 season. It has been known as the Ronald McDonald House Whero Cup after its sponsor Ronald McDonald House South Island. There are two other cups runs at the same time for the lower Senior Men's Divisions.

### Whero Cup Winners-

* 2023 - Christchurch United U20
* 2024 - University of Canterbury 3rd
| Club | Number of Titles | Year(s) Won |
| Christchurch United U20 | 1 | 2023 |
| University of Canterbury 3rd | 1 | 2024 |