Waikato Bay of Plenty Football

What Waikato Bay of Plenty Football does

Waikato Bay of Plenty Football (WaiBOP Football) is a not-for-profit incorporated society and one of six regional football federations operating under New Zealand Football. Founded in 2000 (formally incorporated 1 May 2001) as Force Three, the organization was rebranded to WaiBOP Football in 2007 and serves as the governing body for football and futsal across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, including Rotorua, Taupo, Thames/Coromandel, and Eastern Bay of Plenty. It manages a participation base of 17,727 registered football players and 6,167 futsal players (2025), coordinates 1,139 teams across 87 affiliated clubs and schools, schedules over 10,232 matches per season across 600+ pitches in 206 locations, and operates with 19 full- and part-time staff including Football Development Officers, Futsal, Women's, and Referee Development Officers.

WaiBOP delivers a portfolio of services organized around three pillars: competitions (football and futsal leagues from U7 through to senior and over-35s, cup competitions, and national league representation via WaiBOP United / Hamilton Wanderers), development (Coach Education, Coachmate, Talent Development Programme, Youth Referee Academies in Hamilton, Tauranga, and Rotorua, GK Development Programme, and female-focused programmes including Wahine Toa, Te Ara Wāhine, MILO Fantails, and the Women's Leadership Programme), and club support (governance guidance, Quality Club Mark, Whole of Football 2.0 framework, and the Gender Equity Plan targeting 40% female participation by 2030). Operational infrastructure includes GoalNet (online registration and member management), the WaiBOP mobile application, and a club noticeboard. The federation is headquartered in Hamilton and operates a regional office in Tauranga.

The revenue model is a hybrid of recurring affiliation fees from member clubs and schools, programme participation fees (e.g., $80–$100 per participant for development programmes), and grants/sponsorship from funders including NZCT (New Zealand Community Trust), Lion Foundation, NZ Football Foundation, Ford New Zealand, Inter Football, Craig Investment Partners, Veo, and Hine te Hiringa. WaiBOP has historically maintained some of the lowest affiliation fees in New Zealand, positioning volume participation and grant-funded programme expansion as its core commercial approach. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors with three elected and four appointed positions, and is led by CEO Karyn Walters, the first woman to hold the role and only the second female federation CEO in New Zealand.

Name

Waikato Bay of Plenty Football

Legal name

WaiBOP Football Federation

Website

https://waibopfootball.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Waikato Bay of Plenty Football is a not-for-profit regional federation governing football and futsal across Waikato and Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. It serves 87 clubs, 17,727 players, and 6,167 futsal participants through competitions, development programmes, and club support services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Football Federation Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Amateur Sport Governing Bodies & Federations (National/Regional) (MPAKACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC), Amateur & Grassroots Sport Associations (Community/Youth Governing Orgs) (MPAKAFAF), Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

Keywords

• Regional football federation
• Football competition management
• Coach education programmes
• Referee development services
• Youth football development

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Affiliation Fees: Clubs and schools pay affiliation fees to be members of the federation. WaiBOP historically maintained some of the lowest affiliation fees in New Zealand.
2. Grants and Sponsorship: Support from funders including NZCT (New Zealand Community Trust), Lion Foundation, and sponsors including Ford, Inter Football, Craig Investment Partners, Veo, and NZ Football Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WaiBOP Football is a regional football and futsal federation that organises competitions, manages club affiliations, and delivers development programmes for players, coaches, and referees across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions of New Zealand. Its core offering comprises community and competitive football/futsal leagues from U7 through over-35s, coach education, referee academies, talent identification pathways, and women's and girls' participation initiatives. Operations are funded by affiliation fees, grants, and sponsorships rather than consumer product sales.

Product overview

WaiBOP Football is a regional football federation governing football and futsal across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions of New Zealand. It operates as a federation — not a single product company — delivering a broad portfolio of services organised around three core pillars: (1) Football and Futsal Competitions spanning junior, youth, and senior levels for both genders across more than 100 leagues; (2) Player, Coach, and Referee Development Programmes including the Talent Development Programme (TDP), Coachmate, Coach Education, Youth Referee Academies, and the specialised Wahine Toa and MILO Fantails programmes for female participation; and (3) Club Support Services including governance guidance, the Whole of Football 2.0 framework, Gender Equity Plan, Women's Leadership Programme, and Te Ara Wāhine collective. Supporting infrastructure includes online registration (GoalNet), the WaiBOP App, and national league representation teams (WaiBOP United / Hamilton Wanderers).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Football Competitions Regional football competitions across age groups (U7 through senior/over-35s) and from community to competitive levels, including WaiBOP Premiership, WaiBOP Championship, NRFL leagues, and cup competitions such as the Chatham Cup and Kate Sheppard Cup. For clubs and players across Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
• Futsal Competitions Indoor futsal competitions and leagues across Waikato (Waikato Rapids) and Bay of Plenty (Bay of Plenty Surge), including Futsal SuperLeague, Youth Futsal Championships, and school futsal leagues. For clubs, schools, and individual futsal players across the region.
• Club Support Programme Federation support services for affiliated clubs including governance guidance, resource distribution, facility planning, and the Quality Club Mark accreditation framework. For the 87 affiliated clubs and schools across the region.
• Talent Development Programme (TDP) Federation-led talent identification and development pathway for promising youth players, providing high-performance training environments and connections to national selection opportunities. Replaces the prior Federation Talent Centre. For aspiring youth players across the region.
• Coach Education NZF-aligned coach education and qualification pathways across community, youth, and senior levels, delivered through in-person training, webinars, and digital resources by Football Development Officers. For community, youth, and senior coaches across Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
• Referee Development Programme End-to-end referee training, qualification, and advancement pathway from community referees through to FIFA-level officials, including referee courses and resource support. For aspiring and existing referees across the region.
• Youth Referee Academies Specialised academies in Hamilton, Tauranga, and Rotorua developing young match officials with structured training, mentoring, and progression pathways, supported by NZCT. For young aspiring referees.
• Wahine Toa Programme Two-day female-only football and futsal programme for kōhine (adolescent girls aged ~14–15), combining skill development, leadership building, nutrition education, and personal growth. NZ$80 covers both days including t-shirt, morning tea, lunch, and afternoon snack.
• Te Ara Wāhine Regional collective model for sustainable female football in the Bay of Plenty, offering a centralised talent pathway, development programmes for ages 8–13, hub-based training, and club collaboration for women and girls. U14/U16 two-day programme priced at NZ$100 per player; U13/U11 holiday programme NZ$50 per day.
• Women's Leadership Programme Annual personal and professional development course for women aged 18+ involved in football administration, coaching, or volunteering, offered in two age groups (Ngā Tīpu Wāhine aged 18–25 and Ngā Wāhine Puāwai aged 25+), covering leadership, communication, and community project design. Delivered with Professor Sarah Leberman of Massey University and supported by Hine te Hiringa.
• MILO Fantails Programme Club-run, WaiBOP-supported introductory football and futsal programme for girls aged 4–12, delivered through local hub sessions focused on skill-building, friendship, and fun. Free to NZ$40 per participant depending on club hub location.
• Goalkeeper Development Programme Specialised goalkeeper coaching and development initiative with a dedicated GK Development Officer supporting the region's goalkeepers across all levels. For aspiring goalkeepers in the region.
• Holiday Programmes School holiday football and futsal programmes delivered across the region for children of various ages, providing structured skill-based activities during break periods.
• Weir Rose Bowl Annual youth football tournament held at St Peter's School, Cambridge, attracting teams from across New Zealand. Evolved from a federation-representative competition to a club-based format.
• National League Representation (WaiBOP United / Hamilton Wanderers) Federation's representation of the WaiBOP region in national competitions including the ISPS Handa Premiership, National Women's League, and National Youth League via WaiBOP United (men) and Hamilton Wanderers (following the 2016 licence transfer).

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Inter FootballcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInter Football is the football gear supplier for WaiBOP Football, providing equipment and apparel for clubs and individuals across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region. They work with clubs from training pitch to match day arena.
• Ford New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough NZ Football's partnership, Ford supplies vehicles to WaiBOP Football. The partnership, primarily focused on women's and girls' football, represents significant investment from elite level to grassroots through the Football Ferns and regional football programs.
• Craig Investment PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of New Zealand's leading investment advisory firms providing commercial partnership support to WaiBOP Football.
• McDonald's HamiltonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor supporting the Junior 5-Aside Festival and other junior football initiatives in the Hamilton region.
• Massey UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Sarah Leberman from Massey University School of Management delivers the Women's Leadership Programme. She is co-founder of Women in Sport Aotearoa (WISPA) and was made MNZM for services to women, sport, and tertiary sector.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Netball New Zealand: National governing body for netball with regional netball centres across NZ. Competes with football for female participation, school time, and junior registration; analogous federation/centre model and funding profile to WaiBOP.
• Cricket New Zealand: National governing body for cricket with regional associations and Major Associations. Competes for junior participation, school programmes, and summer/winter coaching time; analogous centralised federation structure.
• New Zealand Football: The national governing body for football in New Zealand, of which WaiBOP is one of six regional affiliates. Sets national policy, distributes central funding, and runs national teams/leagues; directly comparable in mission but operates at a national rather than regional level.
• New Zealand Rugby: National governing body for rugby union with provincial unions. The dominant participation competitor for football in NZ schools and clubs; comparable structure of provincial unions affiliating to a national body, with similar grant/sponsorship revenue mix.
• Hockey New Zealand: National governing body for field hockey with regional associations across NZ. Comparable federation model and direct competitor for winter sport participation share, particularly at school and junior levels.

Direct peers

• Capital Football: One of the six New Zealand Football regional federations, covering the Wellington region. Operates the same federation model (affiliated clubs, competitions, development pathways, referee academies) and faces identical structural and funding dynamics as WaiBOP.
• Central Football: Manawatu/Whanganui/Horowhenua regional football federation. Operates the same regional federation model under NZ Football, with comparable grassroots participation and development programme structure.
• Football South: Otago/Southland regional football federation affiliated to NZ Football. Comparable federation model with similar revenue mix (affiliation fees, grants, sponsorship) and operational scope to WaiBOP.
• Northern Football: Auckland/Northland regional football federation. Largest of the NZ Football federations by participation; provides a relevant scale-up benchmark for WaiBOP in terms of club network, sponsorship depth, and competition structure.
• Mainland Football: Canterbury-based regional football federation affiliated to NZ Football. Directly comparable in scale, structure, and product mix (football and futsal competitions, coach/referee development, gender equity initiatives) to WaiBOP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WaiBOPfootball
• Xx.com/WaiBOPFootball
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/waibop-football-federation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Waikato Bay of Plenty Football