{"id":236303,"date":"2026-01-16T12:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/236303\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T12:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:07:10","slug":"the-shirt-that-carries-the-hopes-of-76-clubs-in-new-zealands-south-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/236303\/","title":{"rendered":"The shirt that carries the hopes of 76 clubs in New Zealand’s South Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Island United will open their inaugural OFC Pro League campaign against Auckland FC on Saturday wearing a unique black strip with club logos from all over the South Island printed on the shirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe slogan for this shirt is All For One, One For All because we want to represent every club, every player and every football fan in the South Island, and our black strip is a unique visual way to bring that community together,\u201d says chief executive Ryan Edwards.<\/p>\n

The colour black was chosen to represent the breathtaking night sky in the South Island, he says.<\/p>\n

Main photo: The South Island United strip carries the logos and hopes of many clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Striker Ryan Feutz \u2026 \u2018I immediately went looking or the Mid Canterbury logo.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all proud to live in the most beautiful place on the planet, and people travel from all over the world to enjoy the stars in our Southern skies.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the shirt\u2019s design was a complex operation with the club\u2019s apparel partner, New Balance, and football clubs from Invercargill to Golden Bay who enthusiastically threw their weight behind the South Island\u2019s first professional club.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to represent and collaborate closely with the clubs around the South Island and have been overwhelmed by the support we have been getting from around the region,\u201d Edwards says.<\/p>\n

The black strip was chosen as the away strip for the club alongside the official white home strip and local clubs have been eager to see their logo in the OFC Pro League.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realise that many football fans from around the South have been aware of our idea for this strip and are keen to see the final design and order their own shirt,\u201d says Edwards, who adds that fans will soon be able to order the first batch of merchandise through the club website.<\/p>\n

South Island United striker and Ashburton native Ryan Feutz says the black shirt was a terrific reminder to the players of how many clubs they represent in the OFC Pro League.<\/p>\n

\u201cI immediately went looking for the Mid Canterbury logo when the first shirts arrived, and the players could hardly believe that there are football clubs in every corner of the island,\u201d says Feutz, referring to the 76 clubs south of the Cook Strait.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Edwards hopes the black strip will create a connection with every club in the region, and show young players there is now a pathway to professional football in their own backyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a young player for Nelson Suburbs, Nomads or Dunedin Royals, it will be pretty cool to see the same logo that is on your shirt, represented on the big stage in the OFC Pro League.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acknowledgement<\/p>\n

We thank South Island United for providing information for this story.<\/p>\n

Fixtures<\/p>\n

Round 1: New Zealand<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games to be played on Saturday January 17, 2026<\/p>\n

Vanuatu United v Bula
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, 3pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Auckland FC v South Island United
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, 7pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games to be played on Sunday January 18, 2026<\/p>\n

Tahiti United v South Melbourne
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, 1pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PNG Hekari v Solomon Kings
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, 5pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games to be played on Tuesday January 20, 2026<\/p>\n

Bula v South Island United
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 3pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Auckland FC v Vanuatu United
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 7pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games to be played on Wednesday January 21, 2026<\/p>\n

Tahiti United v PNG Hekari
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 3pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

South Melbourne v Solomon Kings
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 7pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games to be played on Friday January 23, 2026<\/p>\n

South Island United v Vanuatu United
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 3pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Auckland FC v Bula
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 7pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games to be played on Saturday January 24, 2026<\/p>\n

Solomon Kings v Tahiti United
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 2.30pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PNG Hekari v South Melbourne
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand, 6.30pm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How to buy tickets<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: How much fans will pay for tickets to OFC Pro League games in Auckland<\/a>\u00a0>>>><\/p>\n

Full fixture list<\/p>\n

READ MORE: All the fixtures for 2026 OFC Professional League<\/a>\u00a0>>>><\/p>\n

More about the OFC Professional League<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Our previous stories about the OFC Professional League<\/a>\u00a0>>>><\/p>\n

This story was first published on January 17, 2026.<\/p>\n

More football stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Island United will open their inaugural OFC Pro League campaign against Auckland FC on Saturday wearing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69,139688,139689,139690],"class_list":{"0":"post-236303","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-ofc-pro-league","13":"tag-ofc-professional-league","14":"tag-south-island-united"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}