The ACT Premier League, known as the Gatorade Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is an association football (soccer) competition contested by clubs affiliated to Capital Football. It is the highest level competition in the Australian Capital Territory region.
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The competition is contested by primarily amateur clubs in one league, each team playing each other twice throughout the regular season. The highest placed team is declared League Champions, and the four highest placed teams enter a finals series to determine the Premiers.[1]
Premier League clubs are generally also required to field teams in age-limited divisions of Premier Pathway League, Premier U18 and Premier U16. Many clubs also field teams in lower State League divisions.
A cup competition is contested by Premier League teams and other teams from the region, known as the Federation Cup. It is normally played during the pre-season.
The competition has been dominated in recent years by Canberra FC and Belconnen United, both regularly reaching the finals and finishing strongly in the cup and league competitions.
The competition was restructured after the 2006 season, based on criterion requiring a development pathway within clubs where each club must field a team in a reserves and Under-18 divisions. Nine teams contested in the Premier League in 2007, cutting Gungahlin Juventus, White Eagles and reigning premier Cooma Tigers from the top tier.[2]
The same nine teams remained in the Premier League for 2008 and 2009. The pathway system was expanded to include a Premier U16 competition, with all nine clubs required to field a team from their club or an affiliated club. Capital Football initially revoked the licence of Queanbeyan City for the 2009 season, citing a non-compliance with the developmental and administrative standards expected for the league.[3] However, Queanbeyan were reinstated on appeal and following the presentation of further evidence demonstrating these standards could be met.[4]
At the close of the 2009 season, the licences of all participating clubs were reviewed and expressions of interest sought for new additional entrants to the competition for 2010–2012.
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| ANU FC home colours 2010 |
Australian National University Football Club is based at the Australian National University. The club was formed in 1962 as ANU Men's Soccer Club and formally changed its name at the 2002 Annual General Meeting to ANU FC to reflect a rebranding of the sport nationally.
Not only is the ANU FC one of the most successful in Canberra, the club also has the biggest membership in Canberra with over 200 members participating in Capital Football leagues across all standard of men's senior competitions during winter (April to September). Pre-season training traditionally starts each February, with the influx of student players arriving in March at the start of the university's academic semester. The club prides itself on offering an atmosphere of football that is friendly, competitive, fair and fun.
The ANU FC's home ground is Willows Oval, in the suburb of Acton, adjacent to Civic in the heart of Canberra. Willows Oval was named after the long line of willow trees that run alongside the eastern side of the oval towards Sullivans Creek and Toad Hall (ANU). Willows Oval, which was once a single patchy grass football field, was replaced in 2010 with two new state-of-the-art synthetic sports grounds that are environmentally friendly and have been awarded a FIFA RECOMMENDED 2 Star certificate.[5] These two pitches are Desso Ambition artificial grass, a surface composed of monofilament fibres that does not require watering, saving 15 megalitres of water per year. Moreover, Willows Oval now incorporates a 500 kilolitre underground water storage system (Stormtech) that harvests rainwater from the two playing fields for re-use in the surrounding landscape. The resurfacing of Willows Oval was made possible by a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth Government and is in step with the ANU's environmental management plan.
The club’s colours are royal blue and white - the blue comes from the ANU's coat of arms, while white is a neutral colour. The club's official third colour worn when shirts clash is orange. Shorts and socks are royal blue. The emblem is a crest with royal blue and white vertical stripes and the motto vilis est sermo (Latin for talk is cheap). The crest features a traditional association football positioned above an open book representing the club's academic roots and affiliation with the ANU.
Notable recent former players include Luke Pilkington who captained the 2009 ANU FC side in the ACT Premier League competition. Luke was given a contract to play with Melbourne Victory in the A-League and made his debut with the first team against North Queensland Fury in March 2010.[6] Tom Rogic was another ANU FC Premier League player who in 2011 secured a contract with the Nike Football Academy in the UK.[7]
ANU FC withdrew from the ACT Premier League competition at the end of the 2010 season. It will revisit entry back into the Premier League competition in future seasons.
Belconnen played in the New South Wales Premier League as Belconnen Blue Devils from 2000 to 2005, and lost to Bonnyrigg White Eagles in the 2005 Preliminary Final, whilst they were Premiers (1st in the league) and losing Grand Finalists in 2004. In 2006 they were kicked out of the New South Wales Premier League because of disputes between the club and the board of the league.
The club returned to the ACT Premier League, now renamed as Belconnen United Football Club, finishing second in the 2006 competition.
Canberra City Soccer Club, also known for some time as the Canberra Arrows, currently participates in the ACT Premier League and formerly competed in the National Soccer League from 1977 to 1986.
Canberra Football Club competes in the ACT competitions including the ACT Premier League. The club was founded in 1958 as Canberra Croatia by Croatian migrants, later taking the names HOPE, Croatia Deakin, Canberra Metro and Canberra Deakin, before becoming Canberra FC. The club has competed in the top level ACT league every year since 1960, and also the NSW State League.
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| Canberra Olympic home colours |
Canberra Olympic Football is based in the inner North of Canberra, playing from the Hawker Football Centre. The club currently competes in ACT amateur competitions including the ACT Premier League. Canberra Olympic is affiliated with the Majura Junior Football Club.
The first formations of the club from the Canberra Greek community appeared in the early 1950s. The name Olympic was formally adopted at a General Meeting in 1955, and the first competitive team formed in the ACT 2nd Division that year. The names proposed for the team was either Olympic or AEK.
The Hellenic Club has sponsored Canberra Olympic since 1999. The Hellenic Club is committed to maintaining the long standing history of Canberra Olympic and believes that its assistance allows Canberra Olympic to further promote and develop soccer in the Nation’s Capital.
Biggest Win: 25–0 v Cooma, ACT Division 2, 23 May 1971
Biggest Loss: 0–8 v RMC Duntroon, ACT Division 2, 9 October 1955
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| Goulburn strikers home colours |
The Goulburn Strikers were formed in late 2001 to offer the Southern Tablelands' most talented football players the opportunity to play at a higher level while representing their hometown.
In 2002, under the banner of the Southern Tablelands Football Association (STFA) the Strikers started competing in the ACT State League, entering two men’s teams: a First Grade and a Reserves Grade.
In 2003 the Strikers became ACT State League Division Two Champions and were promoted to Division One.
In 2008 the Strikers became the undefeated ACT State League Division One Champions.
In 2009 the Club applied to Capital Football for a three-year Premier League licence and in 2010 the Goulburn Strikers were admitted for the first time in the ACT Premier League.[8]
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| Cooma Tigers home colours |
Cooma Tigers Soccer Club is based in the New South Wales town of Cooma, playing at Nijong Oval.
The club currently competes in ACT competitions including the ACT Premier League.
In 2006 Cooma Tigers were the State League winners.[8]
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| Monaro Panthers home colours |
Monaro Panthers Football Club is based in the NSW town of Queanbeyan, New South Wales playing at Riverside Stadium. The club currently competes in ACT competitions including the ACT Premier League.[8]
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| Tuggeranong United home colours |
Tuggeranong United Football Club is based in the Tuggeranong district of Canberra, playing at Kambah 2 Oval in the suburb of Kambah. The club currently competes in ACT amateur competitions including the ACT Premier League.
The club was formed in 1986 as a merger between two clubs from the Tuggeranong district – Kambah United Soccer Club (formed in 1977) and Tuggeranong Soccer Club (formed in 1978 as Wanniassa SC). As Tuggeranong United Soccer Club a more coordinated approach was provided for the sport at junior and senior level in the developing district. At first team level, the club won Federation Cup titles in 1989, 1993, 1994 and Premierships in 1991 and 1992.
In 1999 the club recovered some key players and won the Grand Final in what was then called the State League 1. The win enabled the club to be promoted back into the Premier League. In 2000 the club came runners up in the Federation Cup Grand Final.
In the subsequent 4 years the club maintained a good player base and made the top 4 twice. In 2005 the club lost momentum and came bottom of the Premier League and were relegated into Division 1. In 2006 the club again picked up and moved forward, attracting a new coach a several players. They progressed to the Grand Final of the Division 1, however were beaten in extra-time.
Notable former players include Australian Internationals Carl Valeri and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
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| Woden Valley home colours |
Woden Valley Football Club, also known as Woden Rival is based from southern Canberra, playing at Woden Park. The club currently competes in ACT amateur competitions including the ACT Premier League.
Woden Valley field teams in senior (adult) men's and women's competitions in the ACT. The club has links to the junior club Woden Valley Soccer Club, providing a pathway from junior to senior football. The WVFC club was formed in 2007 to distinguish itself as a senior club, where formerly WVSC was a junior and senior club.
Woden Valley is set for the 2009 season with a fresh lineup of young talent ready to show their skills featuring Gary Alexander just to name a few, the team is tipped to place in the top two this year.
| Year | League Winner | Grand Final | Federation Cup |
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| 2000 | Gungahlin Juventus | Belconnen United 1 def. Juventus 0 | Gungahlin Juventus |
| 2001 | Canberra Deakin | Gungahlin Juventus 2 def. Canberra Deakin 1 | Gungahlin Juventus |
| 2002 | Canberra Deakin | Belconnen United 2 def. Canberra Olympic 1 | Canberra Deakin |
| 2003 | Canberra Deakin | Canberra Deakin 1 def. Canberra Olympic 0 | Gungahlin Juventus |
| 2004 | Canberra Deakin | Canberra Deakin 4 def. Gungahlin Juventus 1 | Canberra Deakin |
| 2005 | Canberra Deakin | Canberra Deakin 1 def. O'Connor Knights 0 | Canberra City |
| 2006 | Canberra Olympic | Cooma Tigers 2 def. Canberra Olympic 1 | Canberra Deakin |
| 2007 | Canberra FC | Canberra FC 5 def. Belconnen United 4 (aet) | Canberra FC |
| 2008 | Canberra FC | Belconnen United 4 def. Canberra FC 1 | O'Connor Knights |
| 2009 | Canberra FC | Canberra FC 2 def. Belconnen United 1 | Canberra FC |
| 2010 | Canberra FC | Canberra FC 6 def. Belconnen United 0 | Canberra FC |
Clubs
Former Clubs
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