2020 FFA Cup

The 2020 FFA Cup is the seventh season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams will contest the competition proper (from the Round of 32), including 10 A-League teams and 22 Football Federation Australia (FFA) member federation teams determined through individual federation qualifying rounds, plus the reigning National Premier Leagues Champion (Wollongong Wolves).[1]

2020 FFA Cup
Country Australia
 New Zealand
Teams765
← 2019
2021 →

The competition was suspended for one month due to the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, effective 18 March to 14 April,[2] and further extended until at least the end of May.[3] For Western Australia, Football West announced that league competitions would be scheduled to progressively resume from 21 June, but with a decision not to proceed with cup competitions in general.[4]

Round and dates
Round Draw date Match dates Number of fixtures Teams New entries this round
Preliminary rounds Various TBD TBD TBD → 32 TBD
Round of 32 TBD TBD 16 32 → 16 10
Round of 16 TBD TBD 8 16 → 8 none
Quarter-finals TBD TBD 4 8 → 4 none
Semi-finals TBD TBD 2 4 → 2 none
Final TBD TBD 1 2 → 1 none

Teams

A total of 32 teams are scheduled to participate in the 2020 FFA Cup competition proper, ten of which are from the A-League, one the 2019 National Premier Leagues Champion (Wollongong Wolves), and the remaining 21 teams from FFA member federations, as determined by the qualifying rounds. The bottom two clubs in the 2019–20 A-League season will play-off for a spot in the Round of 32,[5] and the new expansion A-League club (Macarthur FC) will not appear in the tournament until the following year.[6]

A-League clubs represent the highest level in the Australian league system, whereas member federation clubs come from Level 2 and below. The current season tier of member federation clubs is shown in parentheses.

A-League clubs
Melbourne City Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix TBD
TBD TBD TBD TBD
TBD TBD
Member federation clubs
ACT Wollongong Wolves (2) NSW NSW
NSW NSW NNSW NNSW
NT QLD QLD QLD
QLD SA SA TAS
VIC VIC VIC VIC

Preliminary rounds
Main article: 2020 FFA Cup preliminary rounds

FFA member federations teams compete in various state-based preliminary rounds to win one of 21 places in the competition proper (Round of 32). With the exception of youth teams affiliated directly with A-League clubs, all Australian clubs are eligible to enter the qualifying process through their respective FFA member federation, however only one team per club is permitted entry in the competition. The preliminary rounds operate within a consistent national structure whereby club entry into the competition is staggered in each state/territory, ultimately leading to round 7 with the winning clubs from that round gaining direct entry into the Round of 32. The 2020 edition of the tournament sees South Australia increasing from 1 to 2 qualifying places while NSW loses one place.[6][7]

Preliminary round FFA Cup matches were suspended by Football Federation Australia on 17 March 2020 due to the pandemic.

Federation Competition Round of 32 Qualifiers
Capital Football (ACT) Federation Cup 1
Football NSW Waratah Cup 4
Northern NSW Football — 2
Football Northern Territory Sport Minister's Cup 1
Football Queensland — 4
Football South Australia Federation Cup 2
Football Federation Tasmania Milan Lakoseljac Cup 1
Football Victoria Dockerty Cup 4
Football West (WA) State Cup 0[4]


References
  1. "Wollongong Wolves Crowned National Premier Leagues (NPL) 2019 Champions". National Premier Leagues. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. "Grassroots football temporarily suspended". Football Federation Australia. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. "Extension of the suspension of grassroots football in Australia". Football Federation Australia. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  4. "Football West competition return date". Football West. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  5. Bossi, Vince Rugari, Dominic (19 December 2019). "A-League's worst teams to play off for spot in FFA Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  6. "FFA Cup to introduce Hyundai A-League play-off process from 2020". Hyundai A-League. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  7. "Football South Australia secure a second FFA Cup spot". Football SA. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
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