Soccer was first played in Queensland on a regular basis in Brisbane, in 1884. It is the most participated team sport in the state with 341,917 players in 2024 just under a third of which are female. The game in Queensland is administered by the peak body, Football Queensland, 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 Artillery later switched to Australian rules. Brisbane FC also played soccer at Woogaroo (now Goodna), 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: 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 for more information). By 1886, the game had spread west to Ipswich and then to other regional centres.

Administration of football in Queensland

Football Queensland

Football Queensland was preceded by a number of organisations:

Queensland Zones

The game is administered locally by zone councils:

Participation

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, a privately owned football club (originally formed by the Brisbane-based Queensland Lions FC), 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 and the North Queensland Fury FC (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.

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 National Premier Leagues Queensland (NPL Qld) which forms a division within the National Premier Leagues (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.

Regional competitions

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

Seasons in Queensland soccer

Women's football

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

Footnotes