City licence bid shown red card

GOLD Coast City FC have failed in their bid to secure a National Premier Leagues Queensland licence for 150 stranded players.

Gold Coast City officials met with Football Queensland on Monday to try and find a way to enable the players to continue playing at a high level after Palm Beach Soccer Club – who owned and operated the entity – opted to hand back their NPLQ licence.

Football Queensland CEO Geoff Foster said City would not be granted a licence, making Gold Coast United and Gold Coast Knights – who will enter the NPLQ in 2018 and 2019 respectively – the only teams from the city in the top grade.

Gold Coast City were also open to having a Queensland Premier League licence but that is also off the table.

The Knights have offered to trial the 150 players but there is no guarantee they would be selected.

United have also extended an offer to take on the players but with only room for one team in each age group at NPLQ level, many would be forced to trial and potentially miss out anyway.

It would leave them to return to playing at community clubs at lower levels on the Gold Coast.