17/10/2026
Statement on 2027 Competition Fees
The fees and comparisons in this statement relate to Metro competitions only. Regional fees are not included in the tables, although clubs report increases of a similar scale across the same player and team categories.
We acknowledge Football Queensland’s decision to reverse its proposed introduction of a competition access fee for the 2027 season and instead retain the 2026 fee categories and
methodology for presenting and comparing the 2027 fees.
This is an important and welcome outcome for clubs. Maintaining a consistent methodology
means the 2027 fees can now be compared directly with those charged in 2026, enabling clubs to clearly identify and assess the actual year-on-year increases on a genuine like-for-like basis.
The proposed competition access fee would have changed how charges were presented and
made it harder for clubs to identify the true financial impact on budgets, team costs and player affordability. Retaining the existing approach gives clubs greater certainty when planning for the 2027 season.
Although the clubs acknowledge FQ’s reversal of the proposed competition access fee, the
process cannot reasonably be described as consultation. The clubs wrote to FQ detailing their concerns and repeatedly requested a face-to-face meeting so the issues could be discussed collectively. FQ neither provided a substantive response to the matters raised nor agreed to meet or engage with the clubs as a group before finalising and issuing its decision.
The clubs were informed of the outcome only approximately one hour before it was released
publicly. By that stage, the decision and public announcement had plainly been finalised. One
hour’s notice is not consultation: it gave clubs no realistic opportunity to examine the decision, test its implications, obtain answers or influence the outcome before it was announced.
