Australia Cup

The Australia Cup, formerly called the FFA Cup, is an Australian soccer knockout cup competition held every year. It is organised by Football Australia.

It is different to the national league competition, the A-League Men, which also happens every year. The Australia Cup has more teams, and it is the only time that A-League clubs can play official matches against lower-ranked clubs, because the Australian soccer league system does not have relegation.

Since 2021, the winner of the Australia Cup qualifies for one of the play-off spots for the next years' AFC club competitions (the AFC Champions League for 2022, the AFC Cup for 2023-24 and the AFC Champions League 2 for 2024-24 onwards), unless Wellington Phoenix are the winner. The reason Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for any of these competitions is because the club is based in New Zealand, which is a member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), while Australia is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The most successful team at the Australia Cup is Adelaide United. The current champions are Sydney FC, who defeated Brisbane Roar in the 2023 final.

Format

The Australia Cup is a 32-team knockout competition. Professional, semi-professional and even community clubs are all able to qualify.

Of the 32 qualifying slots, 10 are given to the 12 A-League Men clubs. The rest are given to clubs who play on the state and territory level. New South Wales is given six slots (four for Football NSW clubs and two for Northern NSW Football clubs, because the state has two federations), while Victoria gets five, Queensland gets four, Western Australia and South Australia get two each and Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory each get one.

Lists of clubs
2023
 A-League Men clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Macarthur FC Melbourne City Newcastle Jets Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney Wanderers Western United Member federation clubs Canberra Croatia (2) APIA Leichhardt (2) Inter Lions (3) Mt Druitt Town Rangers (2) Sydney United 58 (2) Edgeworth FC (2) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Hellenic Athletic (2) Gold Coast Knights (2) Lions FC (2) Moreton Bay United (2) Peninsula Power (2) Campbelltown City (2) North Eastern MetroStars (2) Devonport City Strikers (2) Goulburn Valley Suns (4) Heidelberg United (2) Melbourne Knights (2) Northcote City (3) Oakleigh Cannons (2) Floreat Athena (2) Inglewood United (2)

2022
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Macarthur FC  Melbourne City  Melbourne Victory  Newcastle Jets  Sydney FC  Wellington Phoenix  Western UnitedMember federation clubs Monaro Panthers (2) Bonnyrigg White Eagles (3) NWS Spirit (3) Sydney United 58 (2) Wollongong United (6) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Newcastle Olympic (2) Mindil Aces (2) Brisbane City (2) Logan Lightning (2) Magpies Crusaders United (3) Peninsula Power (2) Adelaide City (2) Modbury Jets (3) Devonport City (2) Avondale FC (2) Bentleigh Greens (2) Green Gully (2) Heidelberg United (2) Oakleigh Cannons (2) Armadale SC (2) Cockburn City (2)

2021
A-League clubs East Zone  North Zone  South Zone  West Zone Central Coast Mariners Brisbane Roar Melbourne City Adelaide United Macarthur FC Wellington Phoenix Melbourne Victory Sydney FC  Western United Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs APIA Leichhardt (2) Casuarina FC (2) Avondale FC (2) Adelaide City (2) Blacktown City (2) Edge Hill United (5) Devonport City (2) Adelaide Olympic (2) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Gold Coast Knights (2) Hume City (2) ECU Joondalup (2) Mt Druitt Town Rangers (2) Lions FC (2) Port Melbourne (2) Floreat Athena (2) Newcastle Olympic (2) Peninsula Power (2) South Melbourne (2) Sydney Olympic (2) Tigers FC (2) Wollongong Wolves (2)

2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the tournament was cancelled.

2019
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Perth Glory Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs Tigers FC (2) Manly United (2) Marconi Stallions (2) Mt Druitt Town Rangers (2) St George FC (3) Sydney United 58 (2) Edgeworth FC (2) Maitland FC (2) Darwin Olympic (2) Brisbane Strikers (2) Coomera Colts (4) Magpies Crusaders United (2) Olympic FC (2) Adelaide Olympic (2) Campbelltown City (2) South Hobart (2) Bulleen Lions (3) Hume City (2) Melbourne Knights (2) Moreland Zebras (3) Bayswater City  (2) Floreat Athena (2)

2018
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Perth Glory Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs Canberra FC (2) APIA Leichhardt Tigers (2) Bonnyrigg White Eagles (2) Hakoah Sydney City East (2) Marconi Stallions (2) Rockdale City Suns (2) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Charlestown City Blues (2) Hellenic Athletic (2) Cairns FC (2) Gold Coast Knights (4) Olympic FC  (2) Queensland Lions (2) Adelaide Comets (2) Devonport City (2) Avondale FC (2) Bentleigh Greens (2) Heidelberg United (2) Northcote City (2) Port Melbourne (2) Armadale SC (2) Gwelup Croatia (3)

2017
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Perth Glory Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs Canberra Olympic (2) APIA Leichhardt Tigers (2) Bankstown Berries (3) Blacktown City (2) Hakoah Sydney City East (2) Hills Brumbies (3) Sydney United 58 (2) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Edgeworth FC (2) Darwin Rovers (2) Far North Queensland (2) Gold Coast City (2) Moreton Bay United (2) Peninsula Power (3) North Eastern MetroStars (2) Olympia (2) Bentleigh Greens (2) Heidelberg United (2) Hume City (2) South Melbourne (2) Sorrento FC (2) Western Knights (3)

2016
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Perth Glory Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs Canberra Olympic (2) Blacktown City (2) Bonnyrigg White Eagles (2) Manly United (2) Marconi Stallions (3) Sydney United 58 (2) Wollongong Wolves (2) Edgeworth FC (2) Lambton Jaffas (2) Shamrock Rovers Darwin (2) Brisbane Strikers (2) Far North Queensland (2) Redlands United (2) Surfers Paradise Apollo (3) North Eastern MetroStars (2) Devonport City (2) Bentleigh Greens (2) Green Gully (2) Hume City (2) Melbourne Knights (2) Cockburn City (2) Floreat Athena (2)

2015
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Perth Glory Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs Gungahlin United (2) Blacktown City (2) Rockdale City Suns (2) Sydney Olympic (2) Sydney United 58 (2) Balmain Tigers (4) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Edgeworth FC (2) Darwin Olympic (2) Brisbane Strikers (2) Far North Queensland (2) Palm Beach (2) Queensland Lions (3) Croydon Kings (2) North Eastern MetroStars (2) South Hobart (2) Heidelberg United (2) Hume City (2) Oakleigh Cannons (2) South Melbourne (2) Perth SC (2) Sorrento FC (2)

2014
A-League clubs Adelaide United Brisbane Roar Central Coast Mariners Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Perth Glory Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western Sydney WanderersMember federation clubs Tuggeranong United (2) Blacktown City (2) Manly United (2) South Coast Wolves (2) Sydney Olympic (2) Sydney United 58 (2) Parramatta FC (3) Hakoah Sydney City East (4) Broadmeadow Magic (2) South Cardiff (2) Brisbane Strikers (2) Far North Queensland (2) Olympic FC (2) Palm Beach (2) Adelaide City (2) South Hobart (2) Bentleigh Greens (2) Melbourne Knights (2) South Springvale (4) St Albans Saints (3) Bayswater City (2) Stirling Lions (2)

Women's Australia Cup

In March 2023, Football Australia announced that they would be launching a women's version of the Australia Cup, the Women's Australia Cup, in 2024. It will be the first women's competition of its kind in Australia and will allow A-League Women clubs to play official matches against lower-ranked women's clubs. The winner will have a chance to qualify for the AFC Women's Champions League.

References

Category:Soccer in Australia