Football Brisbane announcement pre-empts Football Queensland’s Australian Premier League licences which are expected to be revealed later this month.
 
The new set up ignores traditional promotion and relegation to determine next season’s participants and instead will choose clubs based on facilities and junior development.
 
The clubs invited to compete in the 2013 Brisbane Premier League are: Albany Creek Excelsior, Brisbane City, Eastern Suburbs, Ipswich Knights, Lions FC, Logan Lightning, Olympic FC, Peninsula Power, Redlands United, University of Queensland FC, Wolves FC and Rochedale Rovers.
 
Current Premier League clubs Souths United, Capalaba Bulldogs, North Pine, North Star and Taringa Rovers will drop to the second division.
 
Three teams slated to compete in the Brisbane Premier League have indicated they will consider joining the FFA-endorsed Australian Premier League if their applications are successful.
 
It's believed these clubs are Brisbane City, Redlands United and Olympic FC.
 
If the clubs accept an Australian Premier League licence, Football Brisbane will replace them with a further Brisbane-based club, reducing the premiership to 10 teams.
 
Football Queensland is pursuing greater representation from Brisbane in their new state-wide league set to begin next year. At present, former NSL champs Brisbane Strikers are the only capital city club competing in the existing Queensland State League.
 
Football Brisbane President Michael Bailey however played down talk of rivalry between his organisation and the state’s governing body.
 
“As far as Football Brisbane is concerned, there is no battle between Brisbane Premier League and Queensland State League or Australian Premier League,” Bailey told au.fourfourtwo.com
 
“We would hope that all competitions do well and are well supported. I look forward to watching them both when time permits.”
 
It is understood Football Queensland requested Football Brisbane delay their announcement until later in the month to coincide with their own, but Bailey said local clubs couldn’t wait for Football Queensland’s timetable.
 
“Clubs need certainty for planning and budgeting purposes. The clubs who are not pursuing an APL application deserve as much time as possible,” he explained.
 
“Our date has been set for some time and I did not really see any major issue with the timing of our announcement.
 
“We did have discussions with Football Queensland and last Sunday I spoke to Football Queensland CEO Geoff Foster who seemed satisfied and comfortable with our arrangements.
 
"I am not aware of any ongoing issues.”
 
Bailey outlined changes that will see Brisbane Premier League conform to the recommendations of National Competitions Review.
 
“We wanted a brand new competition which dovetailed with FFA requirements for top level clubs,” Bailey pointed out.
 
“We will be introducing a Player Points System in 2014 after consultation with clubs regarding a model which reflects the Brisbane context.
 
“Promotion and relegation will commence in 2014 based on a Championship model. There will be a finals series and the Canale Cup will continue.”
 
Bailey also indicated Australia Premier League aligned clubs may be invited to compete in the Canale Cup, a knock-out competition previously only open to Football Brisbane member clubs.
 
“I have no issue with APL clubs being in the cup but it would need discussion at various levels,” he said.
 
Currently, the league is named for major sponsor Veto Sports, however Bailey confirmed that no naming rights had been confirmed for next season.
 
“Sponsorship negotiations are being held with various entities at present,” he said.
 
“Our clubs are located in a number of different local government areas other than Brisbane so perhaps we do need to rethink the name but it is not a priority issue.”
 
Bailey also suggested a continuing emphasis on social media and web-promotion tools to raise the profile of the league and connect with supporters and clubs.
 
He addedL “We will continue to work on improving the coverage of the game in Brisbane through The Washing Line (a supporter’s website) and FBTV in 2013.
 
"We are currently discussing how best to do this.”
 
The current Brisbane Premier League begins its finals series tonight with Redlands United hosting Wolves FC at Cleveland Showgrounds and Rochedale Rovers welcoming Lions FC to Underwood Park. The finals fixtures continue on Friday when Eastern Suburbs travel to Redcliffe to face Peninsula Power.
 
The grand final is scheduled for September 23 and will be held at Luxury Paints Stadium, Richlands.