Gold Coast sports curse
A jinx blamed for folded, failing and fleeing sports clubs on the Gold Coast
A jinx that Australian fans and journalists say hangs over professional sports teams from the Gold Coast, Queensland. Clubs there have folded, changed names or moved away since the 1980s, and as of 2022 none had won a premiership in a national competition.
- No Gold Coast club had won a national premiership in any code as of 2022
- So many teams have folded that the city is nicknamed the graveyard
- The Titans lost the 2023 NRLW grand final 24-12 to Newcastle, the closest run yet
- Gold Coast rugby league went through four club names between 1988 and the late 1990s
- Clubs were often backed by rich owners such as Christopher Skase and Clive Palmer
What it is
The Gold Coast sports curse is a jinx that fans and journalists in Australia say hangs over professional teams from the Gold Coast, a coastal city in Queensland. Clubs entering the national leagues are said to play badly, fall into money trouble, change hands, and then fold, move or take a new name within a few years. So many teams have collapsed that the city is widely nicknamed the graveyard, and sometimes the sporting graveyard. As of 2022, no club from the Gold Coast had won a premiership in any national professional competition, and only one team had ever reached a grand final in a major Australian league, losing it. Motor racing is the standing exception: racing teams based on the coast have won multiple championships and major races.
Where it comes from
The belief grew from the city's record since 1987, when the Brisbane Bears became the first professional team based on the Gold Coast. Its owner Christopher Skase spent $29 million propping the club up for three seasons, then fled the country when his business group Qintex collapsed; the Bears left for Brisbane in 1993. From the 1980s onward, national competitions in several football codes and in basketball tried to establish clubs in the city, often financed by rich private backers such as Skase and Clive Palmer, and most lasted only a few years. Rugby league alone ran through four names between 1988 and the late 1990s, and the two basketball clubs and soccer's Gold Coast United also folded or lost their licences young. Australian reporters were writing about clubs fighting the curse by 2015.
Gold Coast sports curse, drawn and placed
- Living
- Revived
- Fading
- Historical
- Legendary
- Performed
At a glance: who, where and when
Peoples
Belief worlds
What people believe
Those who use the term treat the curse as a force working against franchise sport in the city rather than against any player or coach. It is invoked when a club slides into a familiar run of trouble: poor results, money problems, disputes over ownership, or a slump that starts soon after a marquee player is signed. The heap of folded teams is what earned the coast its graveyard nickname. Even clubs backed by millionaires have foundered within a few seasons, which believers read as the curse at work. Racing teams based on the same coast, which are not city franchises, are counted as exceptions to the jinx.
Today
The jinx is still talked about while the city's two surviving clubs, the Suns in Australian rules football and the Titans in rugby league, keep playing. The Titans were reported in 2015 to be fighting hard to avoid the curse, after the National Rugby League stepped in to run their finances when debts reached $35 million. In 2023 the club's NRLW side came closer to a title than any Gold Coast team before it, losing the grand final to Newcastle 24-12. Meanwhile racing teams based on the coast, such as Dick Johnson Racing and Stone Brothers Racing, have gone on winning championships and major races.
Questions people ask about Gold Coast sports curse
What is the Gold Coast sports curse?
It is a jinx that fans and journalists in Australia say hangs over professional teams from the Gold Coast in Queensland. Teams are said to play poorly, fall into money trouble and then fold, move or change their name soon after joining a national league.
Where does the belief come from?
From the city's record since the 1980s, when national competitions in several football codes and in basketball set up clubs there, often financed by rich private owners such as Christopher Skase and Clive Palmer, and most of those clubs folded within a few years.
Why is the Gold Coast called the graveyard?
So many professional teams have folded in the city that it is often called the graveyard, or the sporting graveyard. Clubs have collapsed amid poor results, financial problems and ownership disputes, sometimes soon after signing a marquee player.
Has any Gold Coast team won a championship?
No club from the Gold Coast had won a premiership in a national professional competition as of 2022. The closest run was the Titans' NRLW side, beaten 24-12 by Newcastle in the 2023 grand final. Racing teams based on the coast have won multiple championships.
Is the curse still talked about?
The belief is current. In 2015 Australian media reported that the Titans were trying hard to avoid the curse while the National Rugby League ran the club's finances. The city now fields two surviving clubs, the Suns and the Titans, and coast-based racing teams keep winning.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Sports on the Gold Coast, Queensland", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryJaadu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Names and customs differ from one community to the next, and some knowledge is closed to outsiders and left out here. This page describes belief and practice. It does not say that any of it works, it is not a how-to, and it is not medical advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-21.
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