In 26 years of AIC Football Competition, a season has never been so close with both the Aggregate Championship and First XI Premierships being decided in the final games of the season. This year 229 teams participated in AIC Football.

Marist College Ashgrove shared the Aggregate Championship with St Laurence’s

The Aggregate Championship for the title of Champion AIC Football school came down to a battle between the two schools who in AIC history have claimed 20 Football Aggregate Championships between them- Marist College Ashgrove (11 Aggregate Football Championships) and St Laurence’s (9 Aggregate Football Championships). The Aggregate Football Championship is calculated by combining the final placings of each team in each of the 12 “Aggregate” Premierships. After 7 rounds and hundreds of fixtures across the Association, the 2024 Aggregate Football Championship was “Shared” between Marist College Ashgrove and St Laurence’s College. This is the first time the Football aggregate had been shared and only one of a handful of times that a team sport aggregate had been shared since AIC’s inception in 1999. A historic moment for the Association. Padua College finished third in the Football aggregate in 2024.

Marist College Ashgrove Director of Football, Mr Derek Lennon was incredibly proud of his school’s ‘Aggregate’ achievement.

“This is a fine achievement for the College in the very competitive AIC football competition. Congratulations to all the coaches, staff and students involved in the program. We have worked hard over the last few years to build a unified development program for all our teams which is starting to pay off. We are proud to have won the aggregate shield, with St Laurence’s College, alongside the First XI premiership.” Mr Lennon said.

St Laurence’s Head of Sport, Mr Patrick Byron was equally as proud of the St Laurence’s teams and the staff involved in the football program at the South Brisbane School in achieving a share of the aggregate title.

St Laurence’s Shared the Aggregate with Marist College Ashgrove

“It’s truly an honour to clinch the Aggregate title for the second year in a row. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of our Football Department, led by our Director of Football, Mr. Sam Wiltshire, our First Team Coach, Mr. David Knight, and our SLC Man City Head Coach, Mr. Jamie Davies. Our students’ dedication and effort, both on and off the field, is truly remarkable, and winning the aggregate Championship is a reflection of the commitment of all the boys in our program.

“I also want to extend my congratulations to Marist for sharing the title. They have an outstanding Football program, and I am confident that St Laurence’s College and Marist will engage in many competitive Football games across all age groups for years to come.” Mr Byron said.

The First XI Premiership was equally as tight, with three schools going into the final round of games with an opportunity to win the coveted premiership. Marist College Ashgrove entered the final day with a 2-point lead in the premiership- knowing a draw against St Edmund’s would secure, at worst, a share of the premiership. After stellar seasons, both St Edmund’s and St Patrick’s entered the final day knowing that a win to both teams would give them both a share of the premiership after they both played out a pulsating 2-2 result in Round 6. The quality of matches on the final day- and throughout the season- did not disappoint with 2023 First XI Premiers- Iona College holding St Patrick’s to a 1-1 draw. The premiership would come down to the final game of the season between Marist College Ashgrove and St Edmund’s. A tense game ensued with St Edmund’s breaking the deadlock midway through the 2nd half, only for the fighting spirit of the Marist College Ashgrove team to shine through in equalising soon after. The final 10 minutes was exciting football as both teams looked for a winner that didn’t eventuate and the 1-1 final result allowed Marist College to celebrate winning the First XI Premiership.

Mr Blair Whitlock, Marist College Ashgrove 1st XI was proud of both his team’s and the school’s football achievements in 2024.

“The boys set themselves ambitious goals and have worked tirelessly to achieve them since we began our preparations back in term four. There’s a special connection in this group and they’ve had a great knack of enjoying the process while remaining laser focused at every training and match. They can be very proud of their achievement and have certainly raised the bar for future Marist 1^st XI’s. With the 9A, 10A, 2^nd XI & 1^st XI teams all winning premierships, it’s an exciting time to be part of Marist Football.” Mr Whitlock said.

St Edmund’s and St Patrick’s finished equal in 2nd place in the First XI Premiership. Both College communities should be incredibly proud of their team’s efforts to be so close to winning the 1st XI premiership.

With their shared Championship in the Aggregate competition, Marist College Ashgrove and St Laurence’s were bound to be premiers in a large number of both the Aggregate and Non-Aggregate Football Divisions. Marist was able to claim the 1st XI, 2nd XI, 10A, 9A, 9B, 8B and 7C premierships. Marists undefeated 2nd XI season was memorable- going through the season without conceding a goal until the final game. Marist also claimed one of the closest AIC Premierships with the undefeated 10A team. Special mention in this division to the St Patrick’s College 10A team who also went through the season undefeated- their season included 5 draws- what many are saying is an AIC season record. It clearly shows the close competition of AIC Football. Marists 9A, 9B, 8B and 7C teams all went through their seasons undefeated.

St Laurence’s claimed the 3rd XI, 4th XI, 5th XI, 8A, 8C (Shared), 7A and 7B premierships. St Laurence’s entered more teams into the AIC Football competition in 2024 than any other school, highlighted by 8 teams in the Open Division. They were able to achieve undefeated seasons in the 3rd XI, 4th XI, 5th XI, 8A and 7A competitions and remarkably was runner up in 5 other premierships- only finishing outside the top 3 teams in 1 of the Aggregate Premierships.

Padua College were able to be crowned premiers in the 10B, 10C and 9C divisions. With a large number of teams finishing in the top 3 of their divisions, the future of Padua Football is very bright. One of schools who showed the biggest improvement in Football results in 2024 was St Patrick’s. The St Patrick’s 8C team was able to share the premiership and their overall aggregate result of 4th was the highest in the school’s AIC Football history.

In the junior football development years of Year 5 and 6, there are no premierships are awarded in AIC Divisions. These years are an opportunity for boys to be exposed to the increased level of competition that comes with participation in AIC sport but to do so in a non-premiership environment. In the 2024 AIC football season, there were a record number of teams participating in primary divisions and a large number will still have the opportunity to celebrate undefeated seasons within their own school communities. A special mention in the Year 5 and 6 Divisions must go to St Laurence’s College, Padua College and Marist College Ashgrove. All three schools allowed for teams in their primary to play in divisions above their school’s normally allocated divisions. This allowed for a closer standard of competition each week across a number of divisions.

The Association would like to thank Football Queensland for their support of AIC Football with their appointment of referees and assistant referees throughout the season. We would also like to thank the large number of College-sourced and College-based referees that were used throughout the season to ensure football games were able to be played. Thank you to all coaches, coordinators, directors and parent volunteers who ensured the AIC Football season was a success at each school. Finally, congratulations to all students for their incredible involvement.

AIC Football Division Premiership Winners 2024 

AIC Football Aggregate Championship