FFA Cup Betting Tips, Previews & Predictions
The FFA Cup or Football Federation Australia Cup is a national annual football knockout cup competition in Australia. The competition is organised by and named after Football Federation Australia (FFA).
All the teams from the A-League are included along with teams from the lower tiers in the Australian football league system including the National Premier Leagues. Similar to the FA Cup, all the lower league teams enter the competition in stages to determine which clubs join the A-League clubs in the later stages.
FFA Cup History
Australia had attempted to organise a national football cup competition since 1962 when the Australia Cup was founded. However, the competition was abolished in 1968 before re-emerging in 1977 as the NSL Cup, a knockout competition founded to run in conjunction with the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL).
The NSL Cup involved Australian association football clubs competing in the NSL and various clubs from state based competitions. The NSL Cup ended in 1997 and made a comeback as the A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup between 2005–2008, however this competition only involved A-League clubs and wasn’t a traditional knockout format.
The FFA Cup commenced in 2014 after two years were required to organise the competition structure including eligibility and the finals system.
FFA Cup Eligibility
There are 32 clubs that take part in the FFA Cup competition proper, the 10 A-League teams and 22 teams composed of semi-professional and amateur clubs from each of the state federations. The A-League clubs enter the competition at the Round of 32.
The number of clubs representing the state federations are determined by player registration numbers in each state. The Northern Territory did not participate in the first FFA Cup but have been included since 2015.
FFA Cup Format
The main competition is a 32-team knockout tournament with a seeding system to make sure teams from Member Federations can progress. There are no replays in the FFA Cup with extra time and penalty shoot-outs used to determine a winner.
The draw for each round is made from the Round of 32 to the semi-finals with the draw determining which clubs play at home. Clubs from the Member Federation always host fixtures against A-League teams
The use of seeds in the draw is to ensure the progression of lesser seeds to generate exposure and increase the revenue for football clubs at the grassroots level. The seeded FFA Cup draw is in place to make sure at least three Member Federation Clubs qualify for the quarter-finals with one club guaranteed to make the semi-final stage.
There are two individual awards in the FFA Cup, the Mark Viduka Medal and Michael Cockerill Medal. The Mark Viduka Medal is an award for the player of the match in the FFA Cup Final and the Michael Cockerill Medal is awarded to the standout National Premier League performer.
FFA Cup Winners & Player Records
Adelaide United have won two FFA Cups with Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Sydney FC all winning once. Perth Glory and Sydney FC have been runners-up on two occasions each.
Besart Berisha has scored the most goals in FFA Cup history with 12 and Brazilian striker Bobô scoring the most FFA Cup foals in a season with eight scored for Sydney FC in 2017.
Two players have scored four goals in a single FFA Cup match, Matt Sim for Central Coast Mariners vs Palm Beach Sharks on 14 October 2014 and Bobô for Sydney FC vs Darwin Rovers on 2 August 2017.
FFA Cup Winners, Score, Runners-Up and Venue
Year | Winners | Score | Runners-Up | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | ||||
2018 | Adelaide United | 2-1 | Sydney FC | Coopers Stadium |
2017 | Sydney FC | 2-1 AET | Adelaide United | Allianz Stadium |
2016 | Melbourne City | 1-0 | Sydney FC | AAMI Park |
2015 | Melbourne Victory | 2-0 | Perth Glory | AAMI Park |
2014 | Adelaide United | 1-0 | Perth Glory | Coopers Stadium |
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