Football Queensland is considering not issuing a licence in 2023 for our Senior NPL/QPL Competition. If we are not granted a licence, this will mean our children in regional Queensland will have no pathway to advance to higher levels of State and National Competition without relocating to the South East Corner at 16 yrs of age.

Without a Senior Team representing our Region players from Cairns, Townsville, Moranbah, Mackay and Rockhampton have no stepping stone to state and representative competition.  Past/present players have come from across regional Queensland to work and play football for MCU, growing and developing the quality of coaching and sport for Mackay and surrounds. 

Rugby League has a strong presence in regional areas with many feeder clubs for kids to develop skills and play at representative level.  Football Queensland has chosen to only develop the South East Corner claiming it's too expensive to support teams in regional areas. This is demonstrated by the fact that MCU is the only club outside of the South East Corner to hold an NPL/QPL Licence.  Cairns and Townsville have already been disbanded by Football Queensland.  We cannot allow this to happen to Mackay.  

Magpies Crusaders United FC have created a strong pathway for our children to succeed with high performance playing, coaching and development over the past 10 years. Currently we have at least 10 players who have moved though the system created by MCU playing top level state football. Because of the exposure MCU gets via the State/ QPL Competition, local and regional players have had greater opportunities to further their football careers at prominent Australian clubs. 

Football Queensland has overlooked this development of our children for decades.  We as a community need to get behind our Magpies Crusaders United so children from regional areas have a high quality team to aspire to and quality senior players have greater opportunities. Football Queensland is trying to prevent regional areas from getting a licence to compete.  If Magpies Crusaders United FC was to not receive an NPL/QPL Licence into the future, it would be the only sporting code where a successful State League Club will have been removed from a competition because of it's locality.

MCU is currently sitting in 3rd place on the QPL1 Ladder.  They were successful in making the Round 32 in the Australia Cup. This demonstrates that regional Queensland produces quality, competitive players that are worthy of receiving an NPL/QPL Licence.

Please show your support by signing our petition to save our QPL Pathway for our region. Don't pay any money.....just share far and wide please!