The 2026 Zone Football League season is well underway, with the return of promotion and relegation and the reintroduction of the football pyramid in 2024 helping shape one of the most exciting campaigns in recent memory.
The Zone Football League, including the Zone League One, Zone League Two and Zone League Three competitions, is administrated by the Newcastle Football, Macquarie Football and Hunter Valley Football member zones.
Northern NSW Football and the three member zones announced in 2023 that the men’s Hunter football pyramid would be connected from NPL Men’s NNSW and HIT106.9 Northern League One competitions down to Zone League One, Two and Three, with the return of promotion and relegation from 2024.
Zone Football League Three
Charlestown JFC lead the way in Zone Football League Three as they sit at the top of the table eight points clear of second placed Garden Suburb FC (16 points).
Mereweather United FC (14 points) and Medowie FC (13 points) remain close behind in third and fourth but both Merewether United and Garden Suburb have a game in hand.
Maitland JFC find themselves at the foot of the table (three points), with Fletcher FC one point ahead and Barnsley FC three points ahead.
Zone Football League Two
Minmi Wanders sit in the top position to be promoted to Zone Football League One in 2027, but multiple teams are hot on their tail to overtake them for the Zone Football League Two premiership.
North United Wolves are right behind them on 18 points, while Nelson Bay FC are close on 17 points.
New Lambton JFC (fourth) and Bolwarra Lorn JSC (fifth) are only five and six points off the top spot respectively and, with the season just kicking off, will remain firmly in the fight for the premiership.
Merewether Advance SFC and South Maitland FC sit at the bottom of the table locked on three points
Zone Football League One
The race for promotion is heating up for Zone League One teams, with the 2026 premiers automatically promoted to the HIT106.9 Northern League One competition in 2027.
Newcastle Olympic sits at the top of the table six points clear of Mayfield United SFC in second (18 points). University of Newcastle FC sits in third also on 18 points, while Kotara South FC and 2025 relegated HIT106.9 Northern League One side Thornton Redbacks sits behind them each on 16 points.
Stockton Sharks sit at the bottom of the table with one point and trail Cardiff City FC by three points and Swansea FC by four points.
HIT106.9 Northern League One
Wallsend FC and New Lambton FC will battle for top spot after nine rounds of HIT106.9 Northern League One, with goal difference narrowly placing Wallsend in first heading into their round 10 clash.
Lake Macquarie City FC and Dudley Redhead United are also in contention for the top spot, with both sides sitting on 16 points and set to join one of Wallsend or New Lambton in the promotion play-offs.
South Cardiff FC and Toronto Awaba FC are most at risk of relegation, with both sides sitting at the bottom of the table on six points.
But with just six points separating fifth and 10th, a win for either side could see them move clear of the bottom end of the table.
The team that finishes 11th in the NPL Men’s NNSW will join the teams that finish second, third and fourth in HIT106.9 Northern League One in a promotion/relegation play-off series to determine the 12th team in NPL Men’s NNSW in 2026.
The team that finishes 10th in HIT106.9 Northern League One will be relegated to Zone League One in 2027.
NPL Men’s NNSW
Newly promoted Kahibah FC, Adamstown Rosebud and Valentine FC are most at risk of relegation after 13 rounds of the NPL Men’s NNSW competition.
Kahibah and Adamstown both sit at the bottom of the table on 10 points each while Valentine remains in danger on 11 points.
But just four points separate seventh and 12th, with Cooks Hill United (14 points), Newcastle Olympic (13 points) and Charlestown Azzurri (13 points) all at risk of slipping down the table.
The team that comes last in NPL will be relegated to HIT106.9 Northern League One in 2027, while the team that finishes 11th must survive the promotion/relegation play-offs to feature in the NPL next season.