Understanding Football in 2013 and the Acronyms – APL, BPL, BJL, SSF

Football in Australia has changed! Football Federation Australia (FFA) has introduced an Australia-wide elite program for juniors (male and female) and seniors (male and female). Football Brisbane (FB) has also changed the competition structure in 2013. This document attempts to simplify and clarify the acronyms and the football structure in Brisbane from 2013.

Australian Premier League (APL)

The APL is an FFA competition for elite players. The program will be rolled out over the next 4 or 5 years. The program is run in each state with the competition including both Capital and regional areas. The structure in all states is the same. There is a possibility of ‘National Championship’ style finals at the end of the season.

The program in Qld is administered by Football Qld (FQ). There are 14 APL Clubs in Qld:

 Brisbane City Football Club  Brisbane Olympic FC  Brisbane Strikers  CQFC Energy  FNQ FC  Mackay Crusaders  Moreton Bay United  Northern Fury  Palm Beach Sharks  Redlands United Football Club  Sunshine Coast Fire  SWQ Thunder  Western Pride Football Club  Wide Bay Revolution.

Each of these clubs has an FQ determined Catchment Area. Clubs have therefore been allocated to a specific APL Club (based on total number of players rather than pure geographical considerations for the Brisbane clubs). For Souths United, our APL Club is Brisbane Strikers who operate from Meakin Park, Slacks Creek.

Each of the 14 APL Clubs must have the following teams:

Male Female

Senior Men’s Senior Women’s (from 2014) Under 20s Under 18s Under 18s Under 16s Under 15’s Under 15s Under 14s Under 14s Under 13s Under 13s Under 12s

For 2011 and 2012, Souths was one of three Brisbane Clubs that conducted the then elite program for girls: Junior Premier League (JPL). The age groups were Under 14s and Under 16s.

Souths are very proud to be hosting the APL Girls teams on behalf of Brisbane Strikers for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

There are a number of rules imposed on APL Clubs:

 The Director of Football is charged with overseeing the development of all players within their catchment area  The Senior Mens and Under 20s teams will travel the State and compete against all of the other 11 clubs  The juniors will compete on a geographic basis. For Souths, this is SEQ (Brisbane City, Central Qld FC, Moreton Bay, Olympic FC, Palm Beach Sharks, Sunshine Coast Fire and Western Pride)  All junior teams must train three times a week  There is only one team per age group  Minimum coaching qualifications for each age group. The APL Program is the ONLY pathway to representative football ie QAS, A-League and W-League, Socceroos and Matildas.

Players from outside the APL Program ie at a club within the catchment area, may have the opportunity of training with an APL team and perhaps being borrowed to play for the APL team if there have been injuries or school camps etc. This is the role of the APL Director of Football – to identify players with the potential to play APL who would benefit from further development.

Also, catchment Clubs are able to recommend to the APL Director of Football that a player could be of interest.

Souths United has an excellent rapport with the Director of Football at Brisbane Strikers and will work very closely with him to identify talented players.

Brisbane Premier League (BPL)

Football Brisbane restructured the Premier League competition and re-badged others. There are 12 clubs in the new BPL:

 Albany Creek  Brisbane Force  Capalaba  Eastern Suburbs  Ipswich Knights  Logan Lightning  North Star  Qld Lions  Rochedale Rovers  Peninsula Power  UQFC  Wolves FC

Each of these clubs must field the following teams:

Male Female

Senior Mens Reserves Under 18 Under 16 No requirement for any female teams Under 15 Under 14 Under 13 Under 12

Whilst the BPL is the highest competition offered by Football Brisbane, it is NOT a pathway or an elite competition.

Other FB Competitions

 Capital League 2nd tier men’s competition (Previously known as Premier Divisions 1, 2 and 3)

This competition also has a Reserves team in each division. Souths are in Capital League 1.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition.

 City League 3rd tier men’s competition (Previously known as Metro League)

Souths will field City League team/s dependent on player numbers.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition.

 SEQ Diamond League

This is the highest competition offered by Football Brisbane for women.

There are 10 teams in this competition. The teams are yet to be announced for 2013.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition from 2014 (as APL Women’s will commence 2014).

 Sapphire League 2nd tier women’s competition

There are 10 teams in this competition. The teams are yet to be announced for 2013.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition.

 Open (Divisional) Women’s

Usually comprises Divisions 1 to 6 depending on number of teams nominating to play.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition.

 Brisbane Junior League (BJL) 2nd tier junior competition (male)

APL and BPL clubs are excluded from this level of competition.

Encompasses Under 13s, Under 14s, Under 15s and Under 16s.

Souths will be fielding teams in the Under 13s, Under 14s and Under 16s and perhaps the Under 15s (to be determined by Football Brisbane. Expression of Interest has been lodged by Souths)

Teams compete both north and south of the river.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition. However Souths United players identified for APL potential will be referred to APL Director of Football for consideration and recommended to participate in future trials.

 Divisional Juniors (Male)

Encompasses Divisions 1 to 5 in all age groups from Under 12 to Under 16. The number of divisions is determined by the number of teams nominated.

Teams compete on the southside of the river.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition. However Souths United players identified for APL potential will be referred to APL Director of Football for consideration and recommended to participate in future trials.

 Divisional Juniors (Female)

Encompasses Divisions 1 to 3 in all age groups from Under 12 to Under 16. The number of divisions is determined by the number of teams nominated.

Teams compete on both the north and south of the river.

This competition is also NOT a pathway or an elite competition. However Souths United players identified for APL potential will be referred to APL Director of Football for consideration and recommended to participate in future trials.

 Small Sided Football (SSF)

Encompasses the Under 6 to Under 11 age groups.

Clubs have the option of running in-house competitions (rules regarding minimum player numbers) or inter-club competitions.

The teams are non-competitive and it is against FFAs policy for results to be published or tables kept.

Under 6 to Under 8 teams are generally selected on friendship groupings.

There are three different competition levels for Under 9 to Under 11:

Komodo Dragon Players are more competent requiring minimal/no direction from the Team Leader (Coach)

Goanna Competent players requiring direction from the Team Leader (Coach)

Gecko New players or players that need more time to learn the game

An excellent FFA resource on SSF (philosophy, rules, drills etc) is www.smallsidedfootball.com.au

 Squirts

This is an FQ program designed for 3 – 5 year olds. It teaches them football skills through game situations.

Souths run the Squirts Program however not all clubs do.

Other Competitions

Souths entered an Over 35s team in the Qld Masters Football competition in 2012 and hopes to field two teams in 2013.

As you can see, there are many layers to the modern game of football. Souths United is your pathway to the elite competitions but is also where player and coach development at all levels is valued and delivered.

Souths run Development Squads for Under 9s to Under 11s and Development Sessions are regularly conducted for Under 12s to Under 14s. The Development Squads usually compete in the Logan City Cup and the Gold Coast Champions Cup. This concept has been reviewed and enhanced for 2013 to provide improved experiences and opportunities for our players and coaches.

So, if you have a desire to play A-League or W-League, Souths can give you the pathway. If you have a desire to enjoy your football, then Souths is the place for you!

FFA comps FQ comps FB comps Other comps

(Male) (Female) APL Men’s Squirts BPL Men’s Diamond League Women’s Over 35s Men’s Women’s Boys Boys Sapphire League Women’s Girls Capital League Men’s Divisional Juniors Girls City League Men’s

BJL Boys

Divisional Juniors Boys

SSF