For the benefit of those who are new to the club (and perhaps to football?) here is some basic information about how Junior Football is run at Lions FC.
PLAYER REGISTRATION: Registrations for Junior players will be open in early January – there will be further information in December on how to complete the registration process. All registrations are now done ONLINE, and cannot be done prior to the system opening in January 2024.
Information on fees, training times etc will be published with the registration process in late December 2023.
PLAYING SEASON: Players register from January, training starts in February/March and games start in April – the fixture season runs until mid-September each year.
TEAMS: Teams in the club are divided into two groups – Community teams and Football Queensland Academy teams (FQA)
Community teams are made up of the following:
- Miniroos – ages 5 to 12
- Divisional – ages 13 to 16
For Miniroos teams (ages 5-12), new players to the club can be accepted – however we are restricted to the number of teams we are able to accommodate, and so early registration in January is recommended.
We also run a training-only program for children aged 3-5 years, called MiniRoos Kickoff/Lion Cubs – this program will start in Term 2 of 2024, and registration will be available in early 2024 (more details will be published closer to that date)
Within the Miniroos and Divisional age groups are the following levels:
- Kangaroos – in the 9-12 age groups, these teams play at a higher level than normal Miniroos teams
- Metro Junior League (MJL) – in the 13-16 age groups, this is the level above Division 1.
For Divisional teams (ages 13-16) – teams will be formed based on the players registered, if trials are required they will be held when training starts in February/March.
Football Queensland Academy (FQA) teams also play under the Lions FC name, in the Under 9 to Under 18 age groups; female-only teams are in the FQA Under 11, Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17 age groups.
Trials for FQA teams are held at the end of each season in October/November; at the time of writing, there are no vacancies in any FQA age group teams for 2024.
There will be more information available on the registration process in late December 2023 – please check back then!
