Southern United will open its national women’s football league campaign at home this season.
It plays Central at Tahuna Park on September 15 in the revamped league’s opening game.
That will be the first of 12 games the side will play — the league now consists of the seven teams playing each other home and away.
Games will be played every weekend through to the final —
a straight playoff between the first and second-placed teams — on the weekend of December 15.
Notablein the draw is a double-header weekend in which Southern will play Canterbury United twice in three days.
It will first play the Pride at English Park in Christchurch on Saturday, October 20, before hosting it at Tahuna Park on Labour Day, Monday October 22.
The side last year finished third on the table and played its first playoff match — away against Auckland.
It ultimately lost that, but it had been an historic season.
The side claimed the scalps of Auckland, Canterbury and Northern, triple the number of wins it had in the decade prior to the season.
Auckland went on to beat Canterbury in a thrilling final.This year Southern will be coached by Ignacio Sande, who takes over from the controversially dumped Terry Parle.
• The final full round of the Southern Football League will be played this weekend.
Queenstown FC and Southland United are both at home, to Nomads United and Ferrymead Bays respectively. Dunedin Technical will travel to play Nelson Suburbs.
