Blueprint to boost the Premier League
THE Gold Coast Premier League will endeavour to become a 12-team competition by 2024.
And after an extensive review by Football Gold Coast board of directors, staff and key stakeholders, it has been confirmed the 2020 season will resume next Friday.
Both the eight-team Premier League and six -team Coast
League will resume where the season left off and all games already played will count towards the final standings.
Premier League sides will play a two-round competition, with each team playing each other twice including the fixtures that have already been decided. The Coast League will be a three-round fixture.
The final round is scheduled for Saturday, October 24.
Following the season, the top two Coast League teams will be granted automatic promotion to expand to a 10-team competition in 2021.
The eighth-placed Premier League side at the conclusion of the season will play a twolegged playoff for the final spot in 2021 against the thirdranked Coast League team.
Grand final day is slated for Saturday, November 14.
The finals format will be a straight knockout, with matches beginning on the weekend of November 6.
The league champions will meet side four while side two and three will play off with the winners to advance to the grand final.
The two playoff games have been scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, and Saturday, October 31.
Affiliation fees have also been reduced to $1000 for Premier League sides and $300 for Coast League clubs.
In the 2021 season, 10 Premier League sides will battle it out across 18 games with one team to be automatically relegated and one Coast League club to be automatically promoted to the Premier League.
The Premier League will continue as a 10-team league for the 2022 season before expanding to 12 teams in 2023 and onwards.
A memo submitted to Gold Coast football clubs by football operations officer Alan Marquez said Football Gold Coast had arrived at the slate of changes after extensive consultation with its board, staff and key stakeholders.
“The factors that have brought the premise of a 12team Premier League to the forefront is a stronger, sustainable competition, bringing a sense of prestige to our highest competition and to continue to be at the top of competitions throughout the southeast Queensland region,” it read.
“The plan formulated is something that we will strive to build and nurture, with the idea of strengthening the second-tier competition to ensure a solid system across the board.”