Soccer was first played in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

on a regular basis in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, in 1884. The game in Queensland is administered by the peak body,

Football Queensland Football Queensland is recognised by both the State and Federal Governments and Football Australia as the governing body for association football and futsal in Queensland, Australia. Tracing its history back to the establishment of the Ang ...

, together with several subordinate zone councils, each representing regions of Queensland.

History

The Brisbane Football Club (Queensland's first football club) formed in 1866 under Australian Rules football rules but dabbled in both soccer and rugby football for much of its history, but appears to have been involved in many of the early soccer matches in Brisbane from 1867 to 1870. The earliest mention of matches under London Association rules is a July 1867 match Between Brisbane FC and the Volunteer Artillery World eleven. Volunteer Aritllery later switched to Australian rules. Brisbane FC also played soccer at Woogaroo (now

Goodna Goodna is a suburb on the eastern edge of the City of Ipswich in Queensland, Australia. In the , Goodna had a population of 10,461 people. Geography Goodna is from the Brisbane central business district, being just outside the Brisbane City ...

), west of Brisbane, in 1875 against the inmates and warders of the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum." The following year at a meeting at the Railway Hotel, Petrie Terrace in April 1876, a new club was being formed in Brisbane to play under London Association rules is made with the intention of starting a neighbourhood league. The Anglo-Queensland Football Association (a predecessor of Football Queensland) began in 1884. The '' Brisbane Courier'' reported in early May 1884: :''A MEETING of those favourable to the "Association" game of football as played in the home countries was held at the Australian Hotel last night ... was resolved that it was desirable to form an Anglo-Queensland Football Association, and as a beginning the meeting formed the first club, the name selected being "St. Andrew's Football Club." ... It was announced that already from twenty-seven to thirty promises to join the club had been received, and it was resolved to play a practice match tomorrow afternoon, if possible, in the Queen's Park.'' The first fixture match was played on 7 June 1884, on the Pineapple Sportsfield (now part of Raymond Park), Kangaroo Point (refer to

History of association football in Brisbane, Queensland The earliest known records of regular soccer games in Brisbane date from the early 1880s, when a group comprising mostly Scottish immigrants commenced playing at Queen's Park, adjacent to Alice and Edward Streets in the city (now part of the C ...

for more information). By 1886, the game had spread west to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

and then to other regional centres.

Administration of football in Queensland

Football Queensland

Football Queensland was preceded by a number of organisations: * 1884-1889: Anglo-Queensland Football Association * 1890-1919: Queensland British Football Association * 1920-1927: Queensland Football Association * 1928-1939: Queensland Soccer Council * 1940-1961: Queensland Soccer Football Association * 1962-2005: Queensland Soccer Federation * 2006-Present: Football Queensland

Queensland Zones

The game is administered locally by zone councils:

National representation

National Soccer League (NSL) 1977-2004

There were a number of Queensland teams that played in the now defunct National Soccer League.

A-League (2005-present)

The

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

, a privately owned football club (originally formed by the Brisbane-based

Queensland Lions FC Queensland Lions Football Club, known as Lions FC, is a football (soccer) club based in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1957 as ''Hollandia Inala Soccer Club'', the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland. History ...

), was the only Queensland team to compete in the inaugural season of the national A-League (2005). In the 2009-10 Hyundai A-League season, two other clubs joined the Roar,

Gold Coast United FC Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first era of Gold Coast Un ...

and the

North Queensland Fury FC Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from ...

(Townsville). However, the Fury team withdrew from the competition after season 2010-11, citing financial difficulties. Gold Coast United also left the A-league after the 2011-12 season. They have now reformed in August 2017 and currently compete in the

National Premier Leagues Queensland The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...

Club competitions

Queensland statewide competitions

The Queensland State League (QSL) was established in 2008 to provide a second tier competition between the A-League and the Queensland regional competitions. The QSL consisted of a single division, comprising nine teams without provision for promotion or relegation. In 2013 the QSL was replaced by the

(NPL Qld) which forms a division within the

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state-based ...

(NPL). The winner (top of the table after the regular season) enters a national finals series against the winners of the other NPL divisions. In 2018 the NPL Queensland will introduce promotion from and relegation to, a new league the

Football Queensland Premier League The Football Queensland Premier League (known by its abbreviation FQPL) is a men's football competition contested by clubs in Queensland, Australia. It is administered by Football Queensland and is the second tier of football in Queensland, ope ...

Regional competitions

Below the NPL Qld there are local competitions run in each of the zones.

Seasons in Queensland soccer

Women's football

have a team in the national W-League that represent Queensland's female footballers.

Footnotes

External links

Football Queensland official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Association Football in Queensland Qu