Journey to the FFA Cup 2018 Final to commence this Saturday
The FFA Cup 2018 will kick off this Saturday as the excitement of Australia’s national knockout competition continues to grow across the country.
The first FFA Cup 2018 Preliminary Round match will take place in Victoria with Keilor Wolves SC making the trip to IYU Reserve to challenge fellow Men’s State League 5 (Victoria) side Pakenham United FC.
Five days later FFA Cup action will kick off in Queensland with an all Football Brisbane clash set for Thursday, 15 February between Pine Rivers FC and Moggill FC. “Just three months ago we celebrated the FFA Cup’s showpiece with an enthralling Final at Allianz Stadium in Sydney,” said FFA CEO David Gallop. “And this weekend the FFA Cup will return to the grassroots as preliminary round games commence across the country.”
“The FFA Cup gives clubs and teams at a range of levels in Australian football the opportunity to dream about winning a major national title, and exposes players and coaches to a variety of new opponents to develop their game.”
“There was no shortage of drama in 2017 with major upsets, exciting fixtures, and intriguing storylines adding to the unique and inimitable fabric of the competition. We’re sure this will continue in 2018 as we aim to enhance the professionalism of the competition while maintaining a clear connection to the grassroots.”
“The early signs suggest that there is a strong chance of surpassing the 732 clubs that competed in last year’s FFA Cup, which was ultimately won by Sydney FC,” concluded Gallop.
Clubs competing in the FFA Cup Preliminary Rounds range from clubs in grassroots lower leagues up to the second tier of Australian football, the National Premier Leagues (NPL). Registrations are still open in many State/Territory Member Federations.
As in 2017 leading sports equipment brand Mitre® will be the ‘Official Ball Supplier’ for this year’s FFA Cup. Once again, Mitre® will include the name of every club that competed in the FFA Cup in 2017 onto the official match ball from the Round of 32 onward. This year’s official match ball, the Mitre® Delta Max, will be unveiled at a later date.
Slot allocations for the FFA Cup 2018 Round of 32 will remain unchanged in 2018 with Football NSW receiving five (5) slots, Football Queensland and Football Federation Victoria four (4) slots, Northern NSW Football and Football West two (2) slots, and Football Federation South Australia, Football Federation Tasmania, Capital Football (ACT) and Football Federation Northern Territory each getting one (1) slot.
The ten Hyundai A-League clubs will enter the FFA Cup 2018 at the Round of 32. The remaining Member Federation slot will be taken by Heidelberg United FC. Heidelberg received automatic entry into the FFA Cup 2018 Round of 32 after being crowned NPL Champion of Australia in 2017.
The final number of registered clubs plus draws and match dates for the Preliminary Rounds in all States and Territories will be confirmed in due course.
FFA Cup 2018 Preliminary Rounds – Start Dates
| State/Territory | Start Date | Number of allocated spots in Round of 32 |
| Victoria | Saturday, 10 February 2018 | 4 |
| Queensland | Thursday, 15 February 2018 | 4 |
| Northern New South Wales | Friday, 23 February 2018 | 2 |
| Tasmania | Saturday, 3 March 2018 | 1 |
| New South Wales | Saturday, 10 March 2018 | 5 |
| Western Australia | Sunday, 11 March 2018 | 2 |
| South Australia | TBC | 1 |
| Capital Football | TBC | 1 |
| Northern Territory | TBC | 1 |
For further information about the FFA Cup visit www.theffacup.com.au.
You can still be part of this year’s FFA Cup by registering your club up today.
