Club History

Cougars FC were commissioned by the Central Queensland Soccer Zone Incorporated in 2004 to organise sponsorship and a team to compete in the trial State Cup program organised by Football Queensland.

A committee was set up involving business people (Bevan Dingley, Mathew Hayes, Darren England, Guy Rigby, and Blair Burke - Football Qld) who had a strong background in playing and coaching football.

They put forward a budget which was approved by the CQ Soccer Zone. The committee was then free to work within the scope of that budget to meet the needs set out.

This has been the same scenario for the four years that the State Cup has run.

Each year the committee has made the zone a surplus of in excess of $10,000.

For the 2008 year the committee has set up a separate entity to control the Cougars FC so as not to put an financial pressure on the CQ Soccer Zone in case of financial difficulty. The committee has established a group of volunteers who help out on game day to make sure everyone is catered for and the jobs needed to be done can get done.

The Cougars FC is open to all football players who currently reside in the Central Queensland area. Players from outside the zonal area are welcome but will be required to reside here before being allowed to play.

The Cougars have achieved an excellent reputation as being able to supply sponsors with a great night out as well as great value for money in terms of what you get for your sponsorship dollars.

Players from all clubs in the area now want to play for the representative side again as previous zones had not organised enough competitive games for them and there was no prestige with being associated with the best football side in town.

People visiting from other zones have also praised us on how we produce our sides (both on and off the field) and we have been approached by two zones to give them guidance on what is expected and how to achieve what we have done.

The Cougars FC have proven themselves financing the needs of a State Cup team, assessing and meeting the needs of their sponsors and developing a competitive football team at the State Cup level.

This Business Plan will enable the Cougars FC to clearly see what business it is in and where it is headed. The Cougars are no longer just in the business of putting a team into the State Cup.

It is now in the business of maintaining the wealth and wellbeing of junior and senior football players to provide them with an avenue to grow in football and remain within their family and friends network in their home town.

By defining the business in this way the corporation has identified possible new business ventures such as taking over a licensed club. The business plan will refer to the two main areas - one is getting a competitive team on the park and the other is to the sponsorship and revenue raising required to get the team on the park.