Football Queensland has confirmed the release of the Provisional Declaration of Leagues for Under 9 to Under 18 Boys and Girls Advanced Junior competitions for 2023.
“Each year, FQ’s Club Development Unit observes, measures and assesses over 1,500 data points across 75 different criteria for each of the 40 FQ Academy Clubs, continuing to form the basis for the composition, design and rank of the advanced junior leagues,” FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci said.
“Benchmarked and built around global best practice, the comprehensive evaluation of each club’s technical environment and junior development programs allows FQ to track and analyse annual progress, build supporting resources and services, and incrementally lift the standard of technical outcomes across each club.
“Each club is provided an FQ Club Assessment score which reflects the culmination of a season long process and is rated Gold, Silver, Bronze or Development Committed, determined when a club assessment score hits a minimum threshold score. Rating outcomes are detailed in a comprehensive 40-page report, outlining reflections and feedback on club technical outcomes.
“The assembly of boys and girls junior advanced leagues continues to be built around the Club Rank Score of each club. The Club Rank Score is the output of an algorithm that is predominately weighted towards the Club Assessment score, alongside a minor weighting of league specific ladder points and other factors. Each year, the weighting of ladder points progressively reduces.
“Brisbane City, Lions FC, Gold Coast United, Eastern Suburbs, Logan Lightning and Moreton Bay United delivered outstanding performances with GOLD ‘whole of club’ ratings as their GOLD rating was assessed and achieved equally across both their boys and girls advanced junior development programs.
“To achieve a GOLD rating across boys and girls’ programs is an incredible achievement and demonstrates an outstanding commitment to an inclusive advanced club environment that we hope will inspire more clubs to deliver the same.
“With a fully connected junior pyramid, season 2023 will see two more clubs achieve GOLD status, Gold Coast Knights and Rochedale Rovers, landing their Under 14 to Under 18 Boys sides in FQ Academy League 1 with Brisbane Strikers. Magic United and Virginia FC stream up the standings into FQ Academy League 2 after showing excellent progression in their technical assessments.
“FQ would also like to congratulate all the new FQ Academy clubs who have entered the advanced club system with some excellent progression from clubs like Taringa Rovers and North Star. We look forward to continuing to work with all clubs who were in their first year of the assessment process and are thrilled with their development and progress. Reflecting their first year in the advanced system, Club Rank Scores for clubs in League 4 will not be published.”
The top 10 clubs across the Under 10 to Under 12 FQ Academy Boys leagues have been placed in League 1, with League 2 split into North and South and in line with previous years, comprised of Gold clubs’ second teams alongside the next 10 ranked FQ Academies. League 3 is split into North and South and comprised of the remaining clubs.
Next year will see the transition to a 9v9 playing format for Under 13 competitions following the specific technical recommendation from Football Australia and in line with global best practice. In the Under 13 FQ Academy Leagues, Gold clubs will again field two teams across the McKain and McKay leagues, with the Silver, Bronze and Development Committed clubs making up Leagues 2, 3 and 4.
The Under 14 to Under 18 league composition reflects the Club Rank Score order of clubs, 1 to 40, with the Under 16 FQ Academy QAS Girls team participating in the Under 14 Boys league.
The Under 11 FQ Academy Girls league has been assembled based on the Club Rank Score (Assessment Score + female ladder points) of the top ten clubs with advanced female programs.
The Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17 FQ Academy Girls Leagues are comprised of League 1 and League 2, split across the top eight and following eight clubs in order.
A club’s participation in FQ Academy leagues for the 2023 season is contingent upon confirmation of a club’s FQ affiliation, and approval and compliance with various conditions (mandatory or otherwise) contained within FQ advanced junior participation licence agreements. Participation is not guaranteed to any club in any league until the final Declaration of Leagues is made by FQ and the club is invited to complete a licence agreement. Some clubs’ Rank Score may be still under review.