FNQ football column: Women’s Premier League’s primetime move

The FNQ Women’s Premier League will move to a new prime time slot in 2022 in an effort to grow the game and build momentum ahead of the Women’s World Cup and 2032 Olympics.

THE FNQ Women’s Premier League will move to a new prime time slot in 2022 in an effort to grow the game.

This year, FQ Far North and Gulf scheduled women’s games on Friday nights, with both senior grades played in an effort to make that timeslot all about the women’s game.

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The grand final was the only time a fixture was played at 5pm on a Saturday, and while Edge Hill United and Leichhardt players struggled in the heat of the opening half hour, they adapted and turned in a high quality affair.

The plan is for that 5pm to become the norm in 2022, with FQ Far North and Gulf administrator Alex Srhoj saying the move would help further promote the women’s game ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, and the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

“It’s no secret that we want to try to increase the exposure for our women’s game, and bringing the premier ladies as a curtain-raiser to the premier men’s in a prime time slot will hopefully do that,” Srhoj said on commentary during the Premier League grand final.

“There’s a few hurdles to cross before we can do that on a week-to-week basis, but that’s the intent.

Lions' Daphne Briggs and Tigers' Xena Faddy. Picture: Brendan Radke

“The positive things is the clubs understand the need to promote the female game.

“With the Women’s world Cup around the corner and the Olympics coming up, there’s an opportunity there to grow the game and grow the numbers. The level of football they’re playing is through the roof. The more girls we can get playing the sport, the higher the level can become.”

The Tigers won 4-1.

READ ABOUT EDGE HILL UNITED DOUBLE PREMIERSHIP DELIGHT HERE

■ EDGE Hill United will have the opportunity to create history on Saturday when they vie to be the only club to have won the treble in the top male and female competitions.

The Tigers won both the Premier mens and women's Crad Evans games in 2020, the only team to do so since Leichhardt in 2006.

But no club has done so winning men’s and women’s trebles, nor has any club won the Crad Evans Shield (men) and Trophy (women) in back-to-back seasons.

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■ There were some unreal games on grand final day, but we can’t ignore Leichhardt’s women’s reserve grade team.

They went through 2021 undefeated, then battled a gallant Edge Hill United to a 1-1 draw at the end of 120 minutes. Lions eventually won 7-6 in penalties in the first grand final of the weekend.

You can watch the replay of that game, and six others, on the Cairns Post website.

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Originally published as FNQ football column: Women’s Premier League’s primetime move