The 2026 Zone Football League is nearing its conclusion, with the return of promotion and relegation and the introduction of a connected football pyramid in 2024 creating high stakes across all three divisions.
The Zone Football League, comprising 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 connect from the 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 in 2024.
Zone Football League Three
Garden Suburb FC have closed the gap to just one point behind league leaders Charlestown JFC in Zone Football League Three as they continue their push for the premiership and promotion.
Back-to-back draws for Charlestown and three consecutive wins for Garden Suburb, including an important 4-2 victory over third-placed Kurri Kurri JFC, have allowed the chasing side to erase an eight-point deficit from just three rounds ago.
With the league approaching its final two rounds, Charlestown will need to rediscover their scoring touch against Merewether United and Muswellbrook if they are to hold onto the position they have occupied for almost the entire season.
Maitland JFC remain at the foot of the table following a 4-2 loss to 10th-placed Fletcher FC in round 20, but they can take pride in holding league leaders Charlestown to a 0-0 draw in round 19.
Zone Football League Two
Just two points separate the top three in Zone Football League Two, with Minmi Wanderers climbing from fourth to first on 41 points to strengthen their push for promotion to Zone Football League One in 2027.
A midweek 2-0 win over Southern United, followed by a dominant 4-1 victory over South Maitland FC, propelled Minmi to the top of the table.
North United Wolves remain in second on 40 points, while Bolwarra Lorn JSC have slipped to third on 39 points following a 1-0 loss to Southern United in round 18.
Minmi will be relying on results to go their way in round 21 as they serve the bye before facing fourth-placed New Lambton JFC in the final round on 29 August.
Bolwarra Lorn will face fifth-placed Nelson Bay FC this weekend, with Nelson Bay dropping from third after two consecutive draws and a 2-0 loss to North United Wolves. Norths, meanwhile, will take on 10th-placed South Maitland.
At the other end of the table, Merewether Advanced remain at the greatest risk of relegation on four points, with South Maitland two points clear following their 3-1 win over Merewether in round 16.
Zone Football League One
The race for a place in the HIT106.9 Northern League One is heating up, with five teams still in contention for second place in Zone Football League One.
The 2026 ZL1 premiers would normally earn automatic promotion to HIT106.9 Northern League One for the 2027 season. But with Newcastle Olympic crowned premiers and ineligible for promotion, the second-placed team will instead secure the promotion spot.
Olympic are ineligible because they already have a team competing in the top two tiers of the Northern NSW Football men’s pyramid, the NPL Men’s NNSW and HIT106.9 Northern League One competitions.
Under the promotion and relegation regulations introduced in 2024, if a premier is ineligible for promotion, the team finishing second on the table earns automatic promotion in their place. This adjustment does not extend any further down the standings, meaning only second place will be promoted in this scenario.
Kotara South FC and 2025 HIT106.9 Northern League One relegated side Thornton Redbacks currently occupy second and third respectively on 40 points, separated only by goal difference.
The two sides will have the chance to take control of the promotion race when they go head-to-head in round 20 this weekend, before the final round takes place on 29 August.
Mayfield United sit fourth on 38 points, while Newcastle Suns are fifth on 37, with both sides eagerly awaiting the result between Kotara and Thornton as they look to climb the table and strengthen their promotion hopes.
University of Newcastle FC remain in the hunt in sixth on 36 points but face a tougher path to promotion. They will need to win both of their remaining matches while also relying on results elsewhere to go their way.
At the foot of the table, Swansea FC remain at greatest risk of relegation on six points, having recorded one win, three draws and 16 losses. Stockton Sharks extended the gap from the bottom of the table with a 2-1 victory over Swansea in round 18.
HIT106.9 Northern League One
The race for automatic promotion to NPL Men’s NNSW in 2027 went down to the wire in the HIT106.9 Northern League One competition.
Lake Macquarie City FC entered the final round two points behind Wallsend FC after a 2-2 draw with South Cardiff FC in the penultimate round.
The Roosters appeared to have moved level with Wallsend at the top of the table after finding a goal inside the opening 10 minutes of their final match on Saturday. But when the Red Devils scored their own goal against Newcastle Croatia in the 12th minute, they quickly returned to second place.
The battle continued to unfold as the matches played out simultaneously, with onlookers constantly checking their phones for updates from the other fixtures. As Lake Macquarie grew into their match, Wallsend fell behind.
Three unanswered goals from Croatia put Wallsend firmly in second, while Lake Macquarie scored a further three times against Toronto Awaba to secure the premiership by a single point and seal automatic promotion on the final day of the season.
As Lake Macquarie celebrated their return to the top flight, Toronto Awaba were left devastated after being relegated to Zone League One.
Toronto entered the final day one point ahead of South Cardiff at the foot of the table and needed the Gunners to lose to preserve their place in HIT106.9 Northern League One for 2027.
Their task became even more difficult when South Cardiff found the back of the net inside the opening minute against West Wallsend SFC.
As Toronto fell further behind Lake Macquarie, they needed West Wallsend to fight back against South Cardiff. The side looked set to do so when they equalised in the 83rd minute.
But West Wallsend could not find a winner, with the draw giving South Cardiff a crucial point and allowing them to leapfrog Toronto on goal difference, sending the Stags down to Zone League One.
NPL Men's NNSW
The fight to avoid the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off spot in the NPL Men’s NNSW competition kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the final day.
Charlestown Azzurri were relegated from the league the Wednesday before the final round after a 2-0 loss to Edgeworth Eagles in a round 19 catch-up match, leaving the second-last spot as the one to watch in round 22 on Sunday.
Kahibah FC entered the round the most at risk but three other teams remained in danger of falling to 11th.
Adamstown Rosebud sat just one point ahead of Kahibah in 10th on 21 points, level with Newcastle Olympic, while Lambton Jaffas were narrowly ahead on 22 points.
A win for Kahibah over Cooks Hill United would have put any of those three teams at risk of dropping to 11th.
But a dominant first half from Cooks Hill saw Kahibah head into the break trailing 2-0. Despite Adamstown and Newcastle Olympic also falling behind in their respective matches, Kahibah were unable to take advantage.
Kahibah battled to reduce the deficit throughout the second half but ultimately fell 4-2. Adamstown Rosebud escaped the Promotion/Relegation play-off spot with a last-minute winner over Belmont Swansea United, while Lambton Jaffas defeated Newcastle Olympic 2-0.
Olympic's loss saw them avoid the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off by just one point.
Kahibah will now face HIT106.9 Northern League One side New Lambton FC in a two-legged tie. The winner on aggregate will then meet either Wallsend FC or Newcastle Croatia in a one-off Promotion/Relegation Play-Off Final at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium on Saturday 5 September with a place in the NPL Men’s NNSW competition in 2027 on the line.
At the top of the table, Broadmeadow Magic retained the premiership for a third consecutive year and will represent Northern NSW Football in the Australian Championship.