New Zealand Knights
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| Full name | New Zealand Knights Football Club Ltd |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Knights |
| Founded | 2004 (from disestablished Football Kingz FC) |
| Dissolved | 2007 |
| Ground | North Harbour Stadium |
This page details the history of the club. For information on seasons and results see New Zealand Knights seasons 2005–06 and 2006–07
New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional football (soccer) club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the Hyundai A-League, Australia's premier football competition and have since been replaced by the Wellington Phoenix.
Football Kingz FC (promoted as "Auckland Kingz" within Australia) joined the Australian National Soccer League in 1999 and proceeded to play in the last five seasons of the NSL, failing to qualify for the playoffs in every season. The club was originally to use the spelling of "Kings", however this was changed to the Kingz after receiving legal threats from the Sydney Kings basketball franchise.
The Football Kingz brand was disestablished in 2004 and was restructured into the New Zealand Knights as a new franchise for Australia's new national football competition called the Hyundai A-League. Market research carried out by the club, to determine the viability of a new identity for the team, indicated that 76% of respondents were in favour of a name change. When that research was focused on those aged 35 and under, the percentage in favour of a change rose to 90%. Further to that, the name of "Knights" were polled best of all names suggested in the survey, a clear 30% higher than any other option.
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