Whole of Football 2.0 2026

NZF Whole of Football 2.0

What is NZF Whole of Football 2.0?

New Zealand Football has unveiled its updated Whole of Football plan, evolving the way football and futsal are delivered to the more than 176,000 players who take part in New Zealand’s largest team participation sport. 

WaiBOP Football is supporting our clubs and schools to roll out these changes in 2026.

Here's what's changing

These new formats roll out from 2026.

Key differences are field sizes and team numbers to give children more touches and involvement, adding up to an enhanced experience to develop a life long love of football.

* small goals without goalkeepers.

** larger goal with goalkeepers.

*** utilised in areas of low player population (girls only/regional NZ) to support competition growth.

Why are we updating the Whole of Football?

Whole of Football 2.0 has been introduced following a three-year period of international and national analysis.

Research shows that playing smaller formats of the game for longer significantly increases involvement in the game and touches on the ball for players.

This accelerates skill development, and better prepares participants for the transition to 11 vs 11 football, which is now happening a year later at the U14 age group. 

New Zealand Football’s research, based on piloting the framework, shows that by going through the new Whole of Football 2.0 player pathway, players on average will accumulate over 3,800 more touches of the ball, and goalkeepers are more involved in the game, accumulating over 1,300 more goalkeeper actions.

In addition to changes to playing formats, updates have also been made to coaching and refereeing pathways

​​​​​​​Changes in the coach and referee development pathways center around, removing duplication, providing more learning for those operating in the junior space, aligning learning outcomes across football and futsal, and continuing to develop digital tools to connect and engage with our volunteers, coaches and referees. A specific focus on attracting and supporting females through the provision of female only coach and referee courses/pathways should be a priority to ensure the gap between male and female leaders in the game is reduced. 

Player development programmes, quality of coaching and quality of officiating are all identified in Sport NZ’s Voice of Participant survey as key drivers that impact player experience. It is vital that we improve our coach and referee development systems to better support the education of the coach and referee community to have positive impacts on our playing participants.