Words: Staff Writers

Sixteen clubs – including six from PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues – have been confirmed for the 2017 BLK Silver boot pre-season tournament, kicking off in January.

The tournament, which has been running since the 1970’s, has a reputation as one of the premier pre-season events on the Queensland football calendar.

PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues will be represented by returning participants Brisbane City, Gold Coast City, Olympic FC, Redlands United and SWQ Thunder, while Moreton Bay United will also compete for the first time.

The remainder of clubs are drawn from Football Brisbane’s third-tier Flight Centre Premier League – defending Champions Lions FC joined by Albany Creek Excelsior, Capalaba FC, Eastern Suburbs FC, The Grange FC, Holland Park Hawks, Ipswich Knights, Logan FC, Mitchelton FC and Rochedale Rovers.

The teams will be allocated into four groups of four teams, with the group winners advancing to a four-team Finals series.

The groups and fixture dates will be released at the competition’s official launch in early January.

The winner of the tournament will receive a $5000 purse, with an additional $1200 on offer for second, $750 for third and $550 for fourth.

Individual players also stand to benefit financially with the Player of the Tournament receiving $1000.

Recently appointed Thunder coach Fernando Garcia said he was eagerly anticipating the tournament.

“The quality of teams participating makes this tournament, not only an enjoyable competition, but also a very good benchmark for players and coaches to assess the progress of their pre season program,” Garcia said.

“We are delighted to participate and measure ourselves against some of the best teams in QLD at the fantastic facilities Lions FC have to offer,” he concluded.