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Now here’s a Football Federation Australia decision we can all agree on and enjoy: the establishment of an FFA Cup – just like the English one, only about 23.4375 times smaller. Instead of 750 clubs, it will be just 32, but it’s here!
From March 2012 to Australia Day, January 26, 2013, A-League clubs will meet their state league counterparts to find out who is the domestic knockout champion. I can’t wait.
Australia will have it’s own “Cup final day”, with all the colour, drama and excitement that brings. To me, Australia Day 2013 can’t come soon enough.
Cup final at say 3pm, January 26, at Homebush? Beautiful game, beautiful occasion – believe it.
Fixture details remain sketchy, but the idea is gaining momentum at FFA headquarters to apparently use the states and territories’ own domestic cup competitions as qualifiers for the FFA Cup, feeding the best teams into the larger event.
According to a report on the SBS World Game site by Daniel Phan on February 23, the FFA Cup was announced by FFA general manager Lyall Gorman in Melbourne last week.
The other idea hinted at by the FFA that should definitely be taken up is (at least in the first round where possible) having the national league sides play at the home of the suburban state league clubs. This will boost crowds and local interest in the competition.
“State league venues will welcome visiting A-League sides and are expected to yield gate revenue and generate publicity for clubs that would otherwise struggle to draw media attention and substantial crowd numbers regularly,” wrote Phan.
“Bringing games to state league venues is very much a part of the plan,” said Gorman.
“It’s not just state league clubs coming to A-League clubs. It’s very a reciprocal obligation and a responsibility to grow the game… It’s about taking the game to the people but also giving the state league clubs and footballers that boys’ dream of playing in the FA cup – and it’s something to aspire for. The fundamental principle of it is that we’re one big football family.”
So, hypothetically, taking the winners of the relevant state leagues from the past season (2010 or nearest available), plus the last minor-round finish for this summer’s A-League clubs, we might come up with something like this: Thirty-two teams, midweek knockout format. Under lights where available or on a Saturday or Sunday arvo when not.
For simplicity’s sake, we’ll give at least two places to each state/territory, before adding the next-best performed clubs after that. The NT doesn’t currently run a formal, unified competition, so I have added two teams representing major population areas.
Tassie is broken up into a north-south competition with a statewide comp. I’ve (where possible) seeded the teams based on win percentage (so each state league club has an equal footing despite not all playing the same amount of matches).
I’m also assuming, for the sake of this argument, that the Fury stays on (I seriously hope it does). I am also assuming that West Sydney Rovers will eventually turn up, making for a 12-team starting group.
Forgive my use of the name Gosford for the Mariners – a personal quirk. Let the journey begin…
A-LEAGUE CLUBS
1. Brisbane Roar
2. Gosford Mariners
3. Adelaide United
4. Gold Coast United
5. Melbourne Victory
6. Wellington Phoenix
7. Newcastle Jets
8. Melbourne Heart
9. Sydney FC
10. Perth Glory
11. North Queensland Fury
12. West Sydney RoversPLACES FOR STATE LEAGUE TEAMS
13. Sunshine Coast FC (Queensland)
14. Brisbane Strikers (Queensland)
15. Bonnyrigg White Eagles (New South Wales)
16. Richmond SC (Victoria)
17. Adelaide City (South Australia)
18. Western Knights (Western Australia)
19. Oakleigh Cannons FC (Victoria)
20. Blacktown City FC (New South Wales)
21. Stirling Lions (Western Australia)
22. Adelaide Galaxy (South Australia)
23. Perth (Western Australia)
24. Far North Queensland Bulls (Queensland)
25. Sydney United (New South Wales)
26. Green Gully SC (Victoria)
27. Northern Rangers (North Tasmania)
28. Glenorchy Knights (South Tasmania)
29. Canberra FC (Australian Capital Territory)
30. Belconnen United (Australian Capital Territory)
31. Darwin City Buffaloes (Northern Territory)
32. Katherine (Northern Territory)POSSIBLE FFA CUP DRAW (matching team 1 v team 32, etc)
1. Katherine v Brisbane Roar
2. Darwin City Buffaloes v Gosford Mariners
3. Belconnen United v Adelaide United
4. Canberra FC v Gold Coast United
5. Glenorchy Knights v Melbourne Victory
6. Northern Rangers v Wellington Phoenix
7. Green Gully SC v Newcastle Jets
8. Sydney United v Melbourne Heart
9. Far North Queensland Bulls v Sydney FC
10. Perth v Perth Glory
11. Adelaide Galaxy v North Queensland Fury
12. Stirling Lions v West Sydney Rovers
13. Blacktown City FC v Sunshine Coast FC
14. Oakleigh Cannons FC v Brisbane Strikers
15. Western Knightsv v Bonnyrigg White Eagles
16. Adelaide City v Richmond SC
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