Papatoetoe AFC is a semi-professional football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club based in Papatoetoe

Papatoetoe

Papatoetoe is a suburb in the Auckland conurbation in northern New Zealand. One of the larger suburbs of the area commonly known as South Auckland, it is located to the northwest of central Manukau, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland city centre....

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. They compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1

Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1

The Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1 is a New Zealand Association football semi-professional status league competition that is run by the Auckland Football Federation and includes soccer clubs located in the northern part of the North Island, New Zealand...

.

Former club coaches include current All Whites coach Ricki Herbert

Ricki Herbert

Ricki Lloyd Herbert, CNZM is a New Zealand former association football player who represented his country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain...

.

History

Papatoetoe AFC was founded in 1959 through the efforts of Ken Hastings. the club entered the new Franklin & Districts competitions in 1960, competing from a site at the Papatoetoe Recreation Ground on Great South Road. In 1965 the club moved to its current home at Murdoch Park and the same year its senior team entered the Northern League. It gained promotion to the premier division in 1971, and it spent much of the next decade in either the lower reaches of the premier league or the upper part of the second flight.

Papatoetoe have reached the Quarter-finals of the Chatham Cup

Chatham Cup

The Chatham Cup, currently known as the ASB Chatham Cup for sponsorship purposes, is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's football...

 on three occasions, in 1984

1984 Chatham Cup

The 1984 Chatham Cup was the 57th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Early stages of the competition were run in three regions , with the National League teams receiving a bye until the fourth round of the competition. In all, 128 teams took part in the competition...

, 1985

1985 Chatham Cup

The 1985 Chatham Cup was the 58th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Early stages of the competition were run in three regions , with the National League teams receiving a bye into the Fourth Round of the competition. In all, 141 teams took part in the competition...

, and 1986

1986 Chatham Cup

The 1986 Chatham Cup was the 59th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Up to the last 16 of the competition, the cup was run in three regions . In a change to previous years, National League teams received a bye until Round Three of the competition, one round earlier than...

, but have yet to progress beyond this stage of the competition.

Current squad

Notable former players

Many notable national New Zealand representatives have played for Papatoetoe, among them 1982 FIFA World Cup

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...

 goalkeeper Frank van Hattum

Frank van Hattum

Francesco van Hattum is a former New Zealand football player who was a goalkeeper during the country's first World Cup finals tournament in 1982...

.

Noel Barkley

Noel Barkley

Noel Barkley was an association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.Barkley made his full All Whites debut in a 4-2 win over Fiji on 17 September 1986 and ended his international playing career with 20 A-international caps and 5 goals to his credit, his final cap...

 Dave Bright

Dave Bright

David "Dave" J. Bright was an association football player who represented New Zealand gaining 8 A-international caps from 1979 to 1982....

 Billy de Graaf

Willem de Graaf

Willem de Graaf is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level.De Graaf made his full All Whites debut in a 0-0 draw with New Caledonia on July 25, 1969, and he ended his international playing career with 22 A-international caps and 7 goals to his credit,...

 Frank van Hattum

Frank van Hattum

Francesco van Hattum is a former New Zealand football player who was a goalkeeper during the country's first World Cup finals tournament in 1982...

 Billy McClure

Billy McClure

William James S. M. McClure more commonly known as Billy McClure, was an association footballer who represented New Zealand.-Club career:He played for Liverpool F.C. Reserves from 1974 to 1977....

Ray Redshaw

Ray Redshaw

Ray Redshaw is a former professional English footballer.Redshaw played for many teams which included Leeds United, Wigan Athletic, Hyde, Salford City, Southport, Macclesfield Town, Northwich Victoria, Accrington Stanley, Chorley, Leigh Genesis who were formerly known as Horwich RMI in Redshaw's...

 Colin Tuaa

Colin Tuaa

Colin Tuaa is a football player turned manager who represented New Zealand as a player.-Career:Tuaa's club career involved 275 New Zealand National League appearances and 83 goals....

 Brian Turner Chris Zoricich

Chris Zoricich

Chris Zoricich is a New Zealand association football player who represented the New Zealand national football team in the 1980s and 90s...

External links

• Auckland Football Federation Papatoetoe page
• club website