Football Victoria set to change NPL junior boys for 2020

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Football Victoria, in a media release earlier this week, have announced that next year, the Junior Boys NPLVIC will be expanding.

12 new licenses were granted to sides as the competition will have 48 eligible teams.

It is a great move by FV, showcasing that the sport at the community level is just as important as the elite level.

With this expansion, the sport of soccer in Victoria will be allowed the grow as more aspiring juniors from more suburbs will have access to playing NPL for their local sides.

The media release can be found below in full:

Football Victoria (FV) has announced a major expansion of its Junior Boys National Premier League (JBNPL) competition for season 2020.

Following the most comprehensive review ever commissioned by FV, the revamped JBNPL will have up to 48 eligible teams next year after FV granted 12 new licenses today.

The 18-month review, which covered both the Men’s and Boys’ competitions, was completed by Sports Business Partners (SBP) in September 2018.

In line with the review’s recommendations, the FV Board agreed the 2020 JBNPL will now comprise four age levels – U13, U14, U15 and U16.

Subsequently, FV’s Board unanimously agreed on the recommendations made by the Assessment Panel to accept the following 12 new licenses (in alphabetical order below).

  1. Ashburton United SC
  2. Berwick City
  3. Caroline Springs George Cross
  4. Eltham Redbacks FC
  5. Essendon Royals SC
  6. Gippsland FC
  7. Glen Eira FC
  8. Malvern City FC
  9. Mornington SC
  10. Nunawading City FC
  11. Peninsula Strikers FC
  12. Ringwood City FC

In addition, all existing NPL and Hyundai A-League (HAL) clubs will be eligible for new licenses for the JBNPL 2020 competition.Both existing and new clubs must agree to the updated participation license in order to take part in the JBNPL 2020 competition.

FV President Kimon Taliadoros said the granting of new JBNPL licenses followed a competitive application process involving all interested community clubs.

“Football Victoria would like to thank and congratulate each of the 31 clubs for their submissions and interest in the JBNPL 2020 competition. FV was overwhelmed by the quality of the applications,” Mr Taliadoros said. “The unanimous selection of the successful 12 clubs by the Assessment Panel followed a stringent process in accordance with the published JBNPL criteria.”

As part of its commitment to improving junior development, FV will regularly review the NPL Junior Boys competition structure – including the provision to increase the number of clubs beyond 2020. FV will also continue to work with the unsuccessful applicants and any other community clubs who aspire to participate in Football Victoria’s NPL Boys Junior Development pathway competitions.

The Assessment Panel consisted of highly credentialed individuals with expertise across the various criteria.

FV has also confirmed that an additional position is available (to make up the 48 clubs for season 2020) as a result of Western United delaying their entry until the 2021 season.

As such, the Board has requested the Assessment Panel consider an additional license. FV will conduct a review in the next two weeks to confirm which club will be offered that license.

FV’s new JBNPL 2020 competition structure is designed to improve the level of competition whilst providing more opportunities to aspirational Victorian footballers. The competition will feature an 11-game qualification phase before teams are re-graded into leagues that best reflect their competitiveness.

Further details of the competition structure can be found at footballvictoria.com.au or by clicking here.

FV is well underway with the equivalent Women & Girls’ competition review with recommendations to be considered by the board in mid-August. The full report will be released to the football community once the recommendations have been approved.

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Caelum Ferrarese is a Senior journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on micro policy within Australasia and industry disruptions at grassroots level.

The 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund to cater for participation boom

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2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund
Image via Pxhere

The Victorian Government’s 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund is a state-wide investment, open until December 13, 2023.

This fund was created to adapt to the increasing need for infrastructure that is required for regular active sport and recreation.

Utilising three streams, sports clubs, facility managers and community organisations will all benefit from the following grants:

  • Community Facilities – up to $300,000
  • Community Sports Lighting – up to $250,000
  • Planning – up to $40,000

Led by Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence, the creation of infrastructure will be made possible by planners, architects, engineers, project managers,
builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, facility managers and operational staff as part on the construction process. In turn, this has a direct link back to the local economy and offers hundreds of jobs.

For sporting & recreation clubs, sporting associations & leagues, educational institutions, not-for-profit community organisations, businesses and individuals looking to apply for the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, an important note is that they cannot do so directly. Instead, they will coordinate this with Local Government Authorities and the Alpine Resorts Victoria who will apply on their behalf.

Applications close at 5pm on Wednesday December 13 2023 – with successful candidates of the 2023-24 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund announced from April 2024.

For full information and resources, you can view those here.

Football Queensland remain with Kappa for five more seasons until 2028

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Football Queensland & Kappa partnership extension
Image credit: Football Queensland

Football Queensland have announced a five-year partnership extension with iconic international sports brand Kappa as its official apparel partner from 2024.

This relationship between the two parties has been very strong since they first partnered all the way back in 2017 and reinforces the support for football in Queensland that the brand has had.

Kappa has provided quality garments for some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Manchester City, Juventus, AC Milan and the Italian National team.

It’s a brand that was established in 1916 in Turin and eventually in 1978 they rebranded themselves to branch out as a sportwear brand where they focused purely on football-related products and designs.

For Football Queensland, they currently produce and provide quality on and off-field apparel for all Queensland State Representative teams including the state’s futsal representative squads. Kappa also provide on-field apparel for the game’s referees on the FQ website.

They also helped sponsor and start up the Kappa Women’s Super Cup and Kappa Pro Series tournaments that debuted in late 2021 and 2022 respectively for clubs to participate in across the state.

FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci was extremely pleased to announce this partnership extension following Kappa’s amazing support.

“Football Queensland is incredibly excited to announce Kappa as our official apparel partner for the next five years following a competitive tender process which saw us receive 20 expressions of interest and 15 submissions of an extremely high quality,” Cavallucci said via Football Queensland press release.

“In their seven years as a Football Queensland partner, Kappa has provided fantastic support to Football Queensland, our clubs and the wider football community thanks to their quality of apparel, ability to deliver on their promises and the team’s unwavering commitment to customer service.

“We’ve built a wonderful working relationship with the team at Kappa thanks to their willingness to go above and beyond to deliver outcomes for our organisation and our game, and we’re delighted to continue working in partnership with them from next year.”

Kappa Australia Director Ze’ev Bogaty shared the same sentiment for the great relationship the two parties have created.

“Kappa is a strong supporter of football in Queensland and has been proud to invest in the game since the partnership with Football Queensland began in 2017,” Bogaty mentioned in the FQ press release.

“Some highlights of the partnership have included the development of the teal shirt for first year referees, witnessing Queensland state sides dominate on the national stage in Kappa kit, and the launch of the Kappa Women’s Super Cup and Kappa Pro Series tournaments.

“As we embark on another five years as the state’s official apparel partner and continue our close working relationship with Football Queensland, we look forward to contributing even more to the growth and success of football across the state.”

There is a shared goal of improving the grassroots game in Queensland from both parties and the track record of Kappa’s immense investment over the past seven years has shown that this extension will do wonders for Queensland football.

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