2026 ADIDAS Coastal Spirit FC Under-19 Tournament
2026 brings the largest tournament we have hosted in many years, with 18 boys’ teams and 10 girls’ teams — a total of 28 teams descending on Linfield Park for a bumper weekend of football.
This year’s tournament is shaping up to be a huge event for the club, with teams travelling from across the motu to join the Coastal Spirit whānau and create lifelong memories here in Linwood. We are excited to welcome three North Island teams — East Coast Bays (Auckland), Te Awamutu (Waikato), and Seatoun AFC (Wellington). Alongside them, teams from across Te Waipounamu, stretching from Nelson to Invercargill, will be arriving at our grounds, and we cannot wait to host them.
The tournament will be based out of Tāne Norton Park, with additional pitches at Linfield Park and Cuthberts Green being used due to the increased number of teams. Building on last year’s successful tournament, we are delighted to welcome back all returning teams as well as several new additions: Northern Hearts (Boys), South Canterbury Football (Girls), East Coast Bays AFC (Boys), Seatoun AFC (Boys), Te Awamutu AFC (Boys), and Burwood AFC (Boys), who return to the competition for the first time since the early 2000s.
With the growth of the tournament, we are pleased to introduce our updated format for both the league phase and the playoff phase.
To accommodate the increased number of teams, we have moved away from the traditional group‑stage model and adopted a structure similar to European leagues, featuring a League Phase prior to playoffs. League Phase matchups were determined using last year’s final standings and by ensuring teams played opponents from outside their district.
The Playoff Phase has also been refreshed, drawing inspiration from the NRL finals format. The top two teams from each tier will advance directly to the semi‑finals, earning a bye past the elimination playoff. This structure will apply across the Cup, Plate, and Bowl competitions, ensuring a fair and exciting pathway for all teams.
We look forward to hosting you all for what promises to be an outstanding weekend of football, community, and competition.
The Girls league phase will be the same but will change slightly in the playoffs where they will go straight into a semi-final for the Cup and the Plate and the 9th and 10th placed teams play a two-legged playoff.
We are very excited to welcome all players, officials, supporters and family members for a great weekend of football.