Queens Park soccer club wins lease as it works to regain National Premier League status
Queens Park Football and Social Club has been granted a five-year lease at its current ground as it aims to one day regain National Premier League status.
The club is one of the oldest football clubs in Western Australia but has not had a permanent lease at Coker Park in Cannington since 2022.
City of Canning councilors unanimously approved a five-year lease for the club at their meeting on October 28.
The club was founded early in the last century and a clubhouse was built in the park in 1981 to support its growth.
The highest points tally on the ground came between 2017 and 2019, when Queens Park finished top of the Women’s Premier League twice and were champions once.
However, the club has gone through a difficult period since then; Including losing NPL status and its youth team in 2019, and reduced membership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report from the city of Canning said the club had increased its membership “significantly” in the last two years.
There were four senior teams and 14 junior teams, three men’s and one women’s.
Just last month Queens Park was named Football West’s club changer club of the month, earning praise from the State body for “proactive communication, parent involvement and consistent reinforcement of positive behaviour”.
Club president Eve Watts was proud that Queens Park was awarded a second star in the Australian Football focused programme.
“This reflects our unwavering commitment to the protection of children and the protection of every young person who plays, trains and grows up at our club,” he said.
“We believe that true success is measured not only by results on the field, but also by the positive and protective environment in which those results are achieved.
“This milestone is a proud moment for our club and we are committed to building both the competitive excellence and culture of care that sets the standards for football in Western Australia.”
Although football is traditionally a winter sport, the club operates throughout the year with training sessions, school holiday programmes, specialist coaching clinics and sessions on topics such as health and nutrition.
Pupils are also encouraged to join club rooms after school and have helped grow the number of young members to nearly 200 this year.
The club is currently working to reinstate NPL status, which includes owning stands.
A city report said the club will likely outgrow Coker Park at the end of its lease.
Deputy mayor Mark Bain said it was great to see the club on the rise again.
“Hopefully the security of tenure will help them on their path to achieving NPL status,” he said.
The city budgeted about $140,000 for clubhouse improvements.
