Football Queensland (FQ) is delighted to announce it has achieved a major Strategic Infrastructure Plan objective after entering into a user partnership agreement with the North Queensland Cowboys that will see young footballers in North Queensland benefit from state-of-the-art training facilities.

Under the agreement, the FQ North zone will have access to the NRL club’s new Community, Training and High Performance Centre, which will become a ‘home base’ for the Talent Identification Program in the region.

“In FQ’s 2020-2022 Strategic Plan, we committed to establishing Regional High Performance Centres to improve development pathways and opportunities for participants, in particular women and girls,” FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci said.

“We expanded on that commitment in the 2020-2024 Strategic Infrastructure Plan, which identified Regional High Performance Centres as one of our three leading priorities, and today’s announcement represents a major milestone in delivering on our commitments.

“This important partnership with the Cowboys enables FQ and FQ North to deliver talent identification programs in a truly elite environment for U9-U16 players in North Queensland, providing opportunities for 9,000 registered participants from Burdekin to Weipa.

“In addition to strengthening Talent Support Program (TSP) and Skill Acquisition Phase (SAP) delivery, the venue will be incorporated into FQ and FQ North’s bid for Townsville to become a training hub for international teams for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

“Through strategic partnerships like this, we can unlock the immense opportunity of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and create a lasting legacy for the football community and regions such as North Queensland.”

FQ North General Manager Declan Carnes said: “These amazing new facilities have the potential to create many opportunities for our sport and others, and for our region.

“We’ll host junior training and clinics at the new Cowboys Centre, incorporating the indoor training zone and team facilities into our program.”

The Cowboys Community, Training and High Performance Centre combines community areas, multi-sport high-performance training spaces, sports medicine and sports science laboratories.

“We’re excited to be opening our new home to Football Queensland North Talent Identification Program and the region’s junior players in what is a milestone for our club and new Centre,” Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel said.

“It reinforces our vision for a multi-purpose facility that attracts a range of sporting codes and sets us up for new opportunities as we build awareness and interest in our fantastic new venue.

“As a region, we have a real opportunity to boost our local sporting talent under similar co-sharing arrangements and look forward to showcasing our facilities when we open early next year.”