Replaced by the current
Bunnings National Provincial Championship (previously Air New Zealand Cup, ITM Cup and Mitre 10 Cup) and
Heartland Championship in 2006. Although the NPC as a single entity is defunct, its basic structure was largely revived in 2011 with the split of the then-ITM Cup into two divisions. The main difference between the current NPC and its original version is that no promotion from the Heartland Championship to the Bunnings NPC is currently possible. The original NPC featured promotion and/or relegation (or at least the possibility thereof) at all three levels.
Second tier of domestic professional rugby, behind the
Currie Cup, although the competition occasionally included teams from Argentina and Namibia as well. Scrapped after the 2015 season; a one-off expanded Currie Cup was held in 2016 before a successor second-level competition, the
Rugby Challenge, was launched in 2017.
The AFL returned in 2010, but is a separate legal entity from the original AFL. The current league purchased the assets of the original AFL in a bankruptcy auction, enabling it to brand itself as the first league's successor.
af2 (2000–2009), the Arena Football League's official minor league
Many of the teams in the revived AFL are former af2 teams. In fact, the original lineup of Arena Football 1, the league that morphed into the revived AFL, included more af2 teams than former AFL teams.
USL First Division (formally 2005–2010, last competitive season was 2009; folded into USL Pro for 2011, USL Pro renamed United Soccer League in 2015 and
USL Championship from 2019)
DBL –
Dutch Basketball League (Netherlands, 1960–2021, though not professional until the 1990s); merged with the Belgian Pro Basketball League to establish the current
BNXT League
PBL –
Pro Basketball League (Belgium, 1928–2021, though not professional until the 1990s); merged with the Dutch Basketball League to establish the current
BNXT League
Replaced by the current
Bunnings National Provincial Championship (previously Air New Zealand Cup, ITM Cup and Mitre 10 Cup) and
Heartland Championship in 2006. Although the NPC as a single entity is defunct, its basic structure was largely revived in 2011 with the split of the then-ITM Cup into two divisions. The main difference between the current NPC and its original version is that no promotion from the Heartland Championship to the Bunnings NPC is currently possible. The original NPC featured promotion and/or relegation (or at least the possibility thereof) at all three levels.
Second tier of domestic professional rugby, behind the
Currie Cup, although the competition occasionally included teams from Argentina and Namibia as well. Scrapped after the 2015 season; a one-off expanded Currie Cup was held in 2016 before a successor second-level competition, the
Rugby Challenge, was launched in 2017.
The AFL returned in 2010, but is a separate legal entity from the original AFL. The current league purchased the assets of the original AFL in a bankruptcy auction, enabling it to brand itself as the first league's successor.
af2 (2000–2009), the Arena Football League's official minor league
Many of the teams in the revived AFL are former af2 teams. In fact, the original lineup of Arena Football 1, the league that morphed into the revived AFL, included more af2 teams than former AFL teams.
USL First Division (formally 2005–2010, last competitive season was 2009; folded into USL Pro for 2011, USL Pro renamed United Soccer League in 2015 and
USL Championship from 2019)
DBL –
Dutch Basketball League (Netherlands, 1960–2021, though not professional until the 1990s); merged with the Belgian Pro Basketball League to establish the current
BNXT League
PBL –
Pro Basketball League (Belgium, 1928–2021, though not professional until the 1990s); merged with the Dutch Basketball League to establish the current
BNXT League