Northern NSW Football form Premier Youth League to increase pathways

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Northern NSW Football
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Northern NSW Football has announced the decoupling of its youth football from senior football along with the launch of a new youth competition structure for boys.

The NNSWF Premier Youth League has been designed to enhance the talented player pathway, enabling more competitive football for young players and facilitating more games of best versus best and like versus like.

All Premier Competitions clubs that meet the criteria – including regional football programs Mid Coast FC, North Coast Football and NIAS – will be invited to enter the inaugural competition next season.

  • The PYL will replace the youth components of the NPL NNSW and Northern League One
  • Under-18s will move from the existing senior competition structure to join the PYL
  • Youth players will be involved in more matches and play significantly more match minutes
  • Clubs will be rewarded for the strength of the youth program
  • Decoupling of youth football will allow a review of the senior competition structure

NNSWF General Manager Football Operations Liam Bentley explained the creation of the Premier Youth League was a positive for the region’s talented young players and their clubs.

“More than one in three matches in the NPL NNSW Youth have resulted in a win or loss by four goals or more over the last four years, with one in five ending with a six or more goal difference over the same time period. That is an average of almost 200 matches every season which are not competitive,” Bentley said via NNSWF.

“It is clear that there are too many non-competitive matches and the changes will assist with player development for aspiring future national teams players while also providing a valuable experience to players at the various abilities levels throughout our premier competitions.

“This transition will increase the overall number of matches played and the number of competitive matches for all players, as well as more matches of Best v Best and Like v Like.”

NNSWF CEO David Eland added while the new PYL competition had been created with the specific focus on youth players and their development, the decoupling of youth football from senior football meant discussions could now be had regarding the senior league structure without any negative impacts facing youth programs.

“The NNSWF board have directed management to start consultation regarding the structure of our senior competitions,” Eland said via NNSWF.

“This consultation with key stakeholders will include areas such as league size and structure, promotion and relegation for senior football and the potential to connect local senior competitions to our Premier Competitions.

“The potential creation of a functioning football pyramid in our NNSWF premier competitions is an exciting prospect and something we’re committed to exploring.”

How it works:

The 13 clubs competing in the 2022 NPL Youth NNSW and newly promoted New Lambton FC will start 2023 in Premier Youth League 1, while the 10 clubs competing in NL1 Youth will start in PYL 2.

After playing everyone in their division once, clubs will be divided into three leagues based on the collective results of their five youth teams – under-13s, 14s, 15s, 16s and 18s – in a club championship model.

The top eight performing clubs in PYL 1 will contest PYL A for the remainder of the season.

The bottom six clubs from PYL 1 and the top two clubs from PYL2 will contest PYL B.

The remaining clubs from PYL 2 will form PYL C.

The top four teams in each of the PYL A age divisions will contest a traditional finals series. The top two teams in PYL B and C will play a grand final in their respective leagues.

In 2024:

At the start of the following season, the top four clubs from PYL B will join the eight clubs in PYL A to establish PYL 1.

The bottom four clubs in PYL B will join the eight clubs from PYL C to form PYL 2, prior to splitting into PYL A, B and C again halfway through the season.

This will give NNSWF two 12-team divisions for 2024.

Brisbane Roar teams up with Monochrome as Platinum Partner

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Image credit: Brisbane Roar website

Brisbane Roar confirmed Monochrome Corporation will become their Platinum Partner and A-League Men’s match day kit sleeve sponsor for the upcoming 2024/25 season.

Monochrome is a diversified financial services group specialising in crypto-assets and infrastructure projects within the bitcoin and digital asset sector across the Asia-Pacific region.

Earlier this year, Monochrome’s asset management division launched the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (Ticker: IBTC), Australia’s first ETF to directly hold bitcoin.

A cryptocurrency company partnering with a club in the A-League is an extremely rare case and could signify a change in the future with this Brisbane Roar deal.

Central Coast Mariners partnered with Australian crypto platform Zipmex back in April of 2022 with the partnership becoming a joint deal with NRL club Penrith Panthers, however, this collaboration didn’t last very long at all, dissolving in 2023.

The other major codes in Australia have accepted multi-million dollar deals in crypto and the A-League could follow suit in the coming years if it becomes more acceptable.

Brisbane Roar Chairman & CEO, Kaz Patafta expressed his excitement and discussed the way this will benefit the club.

“We are delighted to welcome Monochrome to the club for the upcoming season. Monochrome is a leader in their field and a pioneer in the ETF investment space for crypto and bitcoin exposure. We are greatly appreciative for their support of our A-League Men’s program, and we look forward to seeing this partnership grow,” Patafta explained in a press release.

Monochrome CEO, Jeff Yew also commented on the collaboration and how the two parties are tied to the same values.

“Monochrome has been a long-standing supporter of Australian athletes and sporting events. Furthering our commitment to excellence alongside Brisbane Roar which aligns well with Monochrome’s brand values,” Yew said in a press release.

Brisbane Roar secure an important deal financially for the club and are busy once again in the offseason as they remain one of the strongest business clubs in the league.

This crypto deal is pioneering and could also give a glimpse into the potential for more deals like this if it becomes successful, with clubs becoming increasingly desperate for stable, financially-heavy partnerships.

Football Queensland will keep registration fees unchanged for 2025

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Image credit: Matimix

Football Queensland (FQ) has decided to buck national trends in increased registration fees by keeping the same low fees from past seasons for 2025.

FQ’s prices for the 2025 season will be $50 for MiniRoos, $66 for Juniors and $130 for Seniors making them the lowest registration fees in Australia.

President of Football Queensland, Paula Robinson, champions the federation’s economic management throughout the years to deliver affordable sport to a growing audience.

“The Football Queensland Board of Directors is extremely proud to keep its registration fees unchanged for yet another year. Having the lowest registration fees of any Member Federation means football in Queensland is one of the most financially accessible sports in the country. No wonder we have more Queenslanders than ever wanting to take to the football fields,” she said via FQ press release.

“As we continue to experience record year-on-year growth in participation across the state, the decision to not increase governing body fees for a fifth year reflects Football Queensland’s commitment to ensuring football remains accessible to all Queenslanders, no matter their age, background or location.”

Football Queensland CEO, Robert Cavallucci, explained how the governing body continue to manage difficult reforms.

“Football Queensland continues to undertake very difficult and significant reforms to its operational design, execution and statewide governance structures to transform how we deliver football and ensure the game can handle its evolving needs well into the future,” he said via press release.

“Coupled with prudent financial management, these reforms continue placing significant downward pressure on football’s volatile and high inflationary cost environment to deliver stable registration benefits to participants across the state. 

“After another exciting 2024 season, we look forward to welcoming participants back next year and seeing even more Queenslanders join our game in 2025.”

The registration fees for FQ have been the lowest in the nation for 5 years with the federation not allowing price increases since 2020, including in 2022 where on average football prices saw a 30% increase nationwide.

With the recent cost of living crisis in Australia, the cost of sports has been a massive influence on players either starting or returning to play football in Australia.

FQ’s massive increase in participants has made football the most-played team sport in Queensland, having the largest increase in players of all state federations last season. The continued low prices have been voiced as a key contributor to this success.

As a federation with a large contribution to Australian football in player numbers and successful professionals, its ability to keep prices low is a massive accomplishment.

Other state federations should look to FQ for inspiration in replicating their economic management if Australia wants to maintain participant numbers and ease the financial pressure to play football.

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