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58-613: Since 2014 the Cup is also a qualifying competition for the FFA Cup, now known as the Australia Cup , where the four finalists enter the competition proper at the round of 32. The Dockerty cup winner also qualifies to the next season's FV Community Shield , in a one-off match against the current NPL Victoria champion. The Dockerty Challenge Cup competition was established in 1909 by Harry Dockerty . It coincided with re-establishment of

116-458: A New Zealand-based team, and must play all of their matches in Australia, away from home. The inaugural 2014 FFA Cup Final was held as a mid-week fixture on Tuesday 16 December 2014, in order to minimise the impact on the scheduling of the 2014–15 A-League season, already disrupted by Australia hosting the 2015 AFC Asian Cup . For the following year, the 2015 FFA Cup Final was played on

174-413: A classic single-elimination knock-out tournament , with one team progressing from each tie to the next round. Fixtures for each round are determined by a random draw, with teams entering the tournament on a staggered basis, depending on their respective positions in the league hierarchy. The team drawn first hosts the match, with the final being held at a neutral venue . No replays are currently utilised in

232-478: A knockout competition called the NSL Cup was founded, which ran in parallel with the former National Soccer League (NSL) . This competition involved Australian soccer clubs competing in the then top-flight NSL, plus a limited number of clubs from state-based competitions. The NSL Cup ceased after the 1996–97 tournament . An A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition ran between 2005 and 2008 but involved only

290-423: A long history of regional and state-based knockout cup competitions. However, a sustainable national knockout cup competition that encompassed clubs on all levels of Australian league system has been hard to realise. Prior to the FFA Cup, the first and only Australian national knockout tournament was the Australia Cup . It was founded in 1962 but was abolished in 1968 after just seven seasons of competition. In 1977

348-470: A three-season deal with TEN Sports in 2014. In 2015 and 2016 Fox Sports streamed live all non-broadcast games via their online services. From 2017 onwards, 5 FFA Cup matches (from quarter finals) were broadcast live by beIN Sports in Asia-Pacific nations, such as: Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. 7 FFA Cup matches were broadcast live by BT Sport in

406-461: A weekend date free of other 2015–16 A-League games, to "emphasise the importance of the Final". From 2016 to 2019, the Final was staged as a mid-week fixture. At the end of the final, the winning team is presented with a trophy , known as the "Australia Cup Trophy", which they will hold until the following year's final. The trophy is a large traditional style cup with an intentional resemblance to

464-449: A win , one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The clubs are ranked first based on the number of points acquired during the season. If two teams have an equal number of points, they are separated firstly by goal difference and then the number of goals scored, calculated across all matches. The Rules of Competition provide head-to-head aggregate and head-to-head away goals as further tiebreakers if necessary. The team ranked first at

522-598: Is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria , Australia . The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues , and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer league system , serving jointly as the second tier within the overall Australian pyramid . Administered by Football Victoria , NPL Victoria is the latest iteration of first division competitions in the state. Historically known as

580-467: Is staged during the Australian winter, running from February to September. The league combines aspects of both the traditional European-style round-robin and Australian-style finals series within its competition format. The regular season consists of a double round-robin . Each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 26 matches. Teams receive three points for

638-634: Is the national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia . This annual competition is organised by Football Australia , known as Football Federation Australia until 2020. The Australia Cup comprises teams from the top division, A-League Men (known as simply the A-League before the 2021–22 season), as well as those from lower tiers in the Australian soccer league system . Teams enter in progressive stages, with qualifying rounds culminating with

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696-605: The Dockerty Cup winner in the FV Community Shield . The league commenced as the Victorian Soccer League in 1909 with Carlton United being the first champions. It has run continuously except for a three season postponement from 1916 to 1918 owing to World War I. After 1945 the league, like fellow state competitions around the country, received a massive boost in numbers and quality with

754-682: The Mitre Delta Max for the 2021 FFA Cup. After using the Delta Max for the 2022 competition, the Ultimax Pro was chosen to replace it for 2023. On 25 November 2024, it was announced that beverage company Hahn would become the naming rights sponsor of the competition from 2025 onwards, in a three-year deal. Since its establishment, the Australia Cup has been won by 5 different teams, and 9 different teams have contested in

812-530: The Premier Division and Division 1 . The Premier Division was a single league season, whilst Division 1 separated by two zone leagues (East and West) and the winners qualifying for a Grand Final between the two Division 1 Premiers to determine the Champions. The leagues were renamed with the Premier Division becoming Division 1 , and Division 1 becoming Division 2 . In 2020,

870-802: The Victoria's 'British Association' league in 1909 after the economic depression of the 1890s. In 1909, the first Cup competition involved six teams ( St.Kilda SC , Prahran , Carlton United , Fitzroy District FC , Melbourne United and Williamstown ). The first match took place at the Gardens Reserve in Williamstown on 24 July 1909. In the final played on the East Melbourne Cricket Ground , league premiers Carlton United defeated St Kilda SC 2–1. In 1914, Melbourne Thistle and Northumberland & Durham compete in two finals both ending in scoreless draws and

928-706: The Victorian State League and later as the Victorian Premier League , the league was first founded in 1908 as the Victorian Amateur League and would soon become the Victorian First Division . It adopted its current branding in 2014, following Football Federation Australia 's 2012 National Competition Review. NPL Victoria is contested by 14 clubs. Running from February to September each year,

986-497: The "Mirabella Cup" due to naming rights sponsorship. That arrangement lasted only one season, with the competition being named the "FFV State Knockout Cup" in 2012 and 2013. However, in both years, the winner was awarded with the Dockerty Cup trophy. From the 2014 season onwards, it is once again known as the Dockerty Cup. Participation in the Dockerty Cup is mandatory for the senior men's team from every Victorian club within

1044-564: The "Westfield FFA Cup". Between 2014 and 2016 Umbro supplied match balls for all FFA Cup matches. The FFA Cup Match Ball, the Umbro Neo 150 Elite , was specially designed for the competition. Between 2017 and 2019 Mitre supplied the Mitre Delta Hyperseam as the official FFA Cup match ball after a public vote to select between three alternate ball designs. After the cancellation of the 2020 competition, Mitre introduced

1102-487: The 2005 season when Vodafone became major naming rights sponsors, with the competition being renamed the Vodafone Cup. The 2005 season initially saw crowds attending in record numbers to witness the return of old derbies such as that between South Melbourne and Heidelberg United , but with the formation of the A-League filling the void of a national domestic league, 2006 saw a sharp decline in attendances. The end of

1160-476: The 2006 season also witnessed a controversial finish to the relegation battle. With three teams finishing on 30 points, Sunshine George Cross were relegated on goal difference. However, a post-season appeal to the tribunal on the grounds that Essendon Royals had fielded a suspended player (Ilcho Mladenovski in round 24) saw the Royals deducted a point and relegated. Ultimately, both clubs reprised their position in

1218-505: The 2013 ACT Federation Cup. The first games in the tournament proper occurred on 29 July 2014, with four games from the Round of 32 played concurrently. In 2014 former three time NSL Champions Adelaide City became the first semi-professional state-league club to defeat a professional A-League club, defeating Western Sydney Wanderers 1–0. In late 2020 the FFA announced that future winners of

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1276-410: The 2025 season, the three bottom clubs at the conclusion of each season are automatically relegated. From VPL 1, the winners and runners-up are automatically promoted to NPL Victoria, with a third club promoted via a playoff between the clubs finishing 3rd through 6th for the season in that league. The following clubs will take part in the 2025 NPL Victoria season: The league ran through two divisions;

1334-504: The Dockerty Cup's semi-finals and final broadcast live. Additionally each draw of the Dockerty Cup round's are broadcast live on Football Victoria's Facebook page , while a number of clubs will provide live score updates during each match either via the clubs official website, Facebook , or Twitter . Australia Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons)

1392-479: The Dockerty Cup, with a drawn match going to 30 minutes of extra time and eventually a penalty shoot-out if necessary. Since 2014, the Dockerty Cup has also served as preliminary competition for the FFA Cup, now known as the Australia Cup , from the first qualifying round to the Seventh Round. In 2022 five teams qualify as Victoria's representatives, at the round of 32. In 2020, the FFA Cup competition

1450-650: The National Premier Leagues and the State Leagues, and optional for teams from the Regional Leagues. Because the competition serves as the preliminary rounds for the Australia Cup competition, only one team per Club is eligible. This means that the youth sides of Melbourne Victory Youth and Melbourne City Youth and Western United FC Youth are excluded from the competition, as their parent A-League sides separately participate in

1508-622: The Northern Territory have been represented since 2015. From 2015 to 2021, the National Premier Leagues Champion of the previous year qualified for the FFA Cup Round of 32. The first club to qualify via this method was North Eastern MetroStars from South Australia who won the 2014 National Premier Leagues Finals Series . Since 2022, as there is no longer an NPL Champion, an additional slot

1566-717: The TV broadcast rights for the next 5 years, starting from the round of 32 of the FFA Cup/Australia Cup all the way until the finals. In March 2023, Football Australia announced that it would launch a Women's Australia Cup in 2024, with the competition to run in parallel with the men's Australia Cup, acting as a qualification pathway for the AFC Women's Champions League . The competition did not eventuate. National Premier Leagues Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria , commonly known as NPL Victoria ,

1624-634: The UK and Republic of Ireland. From 2018, at least 1 FFA Cup match per round was scheduled to be broadcast live by ESPN+ in the United States and in other countries where the rights were not sold, most of the matches were streamed live by YouTube via My Football channel. In 2017 the ABC held the Radio broadcast rights for FFA Cup matches, including the Final. In 2021 Network 10 and Paramount+ obtained

1682-556: The Victorian Premier League expected to be rebranded for the 2014 season. Although Football Federation Victoria's initial proposal was halted with the announcement of a deferral in November 2013 after several clubs objected to the process for selecting team. However, by December 2013, a resolution was reached whereby Victorian teams would participate in the 2014 season. NPL Victoria comprises 14 teams. The season

1740-599: The Victorian State League. From 1962 until 1976 the league was largely dominated by South Melbourne Hellas and Footscray JUST , which won 11 titles between them. With creation of the National Soccer League (NSL) in 1977, the league gradually lost most of its stronger clubs, a trend that reached its peak between 1984 and 1986, when the NSL used a split conference system. After 1987, however,

1798-487: The base of the cup and the other as a trim, on the very top of the cup lid. The Australia Cup Trophy was created by D3 Design, who also designed the A-League , W-League and NPL Champions silverware. In its inaugural season the FFA Cup joined with an official naming rights partner. In 2014, Westfield Group was announced as the sponsor for the first three seasons of the cup tournament, known for commercial purposes as

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1856-418: The competition proper, starting with the Round of 32. Each of the regional, state or territory -based member federation is granted a team allocation for entry into the main competition, joining clubs from A-League Men. Initially, all A-League Men's teams entered at the Round of 32; following the latest expansion of the league , the top eight teams enter at the Round of 32, while play-offs are conducted between

1914-466: The competition. Additionally if a Victorian club wins the NPL Championship – as occurred with Heidelberg United in the 2018 Dockerty Cup – they are excluded from the preliminary rounds as they have also qualified for the FFA Cup at the round of 32. Instead they join the Dockerty Cup competition in a special playoff round match held the week prior to the semi-finals. The competition acts

1972-554: The concept of a youth development squad was reintroduced in 2010 with the National Training Centre team playing in midweek fixtures throughout the season but not for competition points. In 2011 the team, mostly comprising players from the Melbourne Victory youth squad, was renamed Victorian Training Centre Football and was eligible to score competition points for its matches but ineligible to qualify for

2030-528: The cup would earn an Asian Champions League preliminary round spot. However, this did not occur, in part because the competition was re-formatted and Australia lost some qualification slots for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League . Instead, Macarthur FC as the 2022 winner qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Cup . The 2020 competition was cancelled on 3 July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia . This on-going pandemic caused further disruptions to both

2088-404: The division below, Victoria Premier League 1 . In the 2024 season, Football Victoria included a provision that relegation in the 2024 season would be suspended if a National Second Division commences in 2025; instead assigning two relegation spots in the 2025 season. The league premier qualifies as Victoria's representative in the national finals series , whilst the champion plays against

2146-445: The end of the regular season is termed the premiers, and becomes Victoria's entry for the national NPL finals . At the conclusion of the regular season, the six highest-ranked clubs qualify for the (Victorian) finals series. The finals take place over three weeks, with teams entering the series based on their respective finishes in the regular season. The teams ranked 3–6 enter at the elimination finals stage. The third-ranked team plays

2204-653: The final. The award given to the player of the match in each year's FFA Cup Final. Named after the late former journalist and broadcaster, the Michael Cockerill Medal recognizes the tournament's standout performer from a Member Federation Club. In the tournament's first season, 10 matches were broadcast live on Fox Sports . Internationally, several FFA Cup matches were broadcast live in South Asian nations, such as: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, after

2262-418: The finals series or be relegated. On 15 September 2013, Victoria Police arrested up to ten people, including Southern Stars FC players David Obaze, Nick McKoy and Joe Woolley as well as the coach, Zaya Younan, for allegations of match fixing. They are expected to be charged with corrupting the outcome of betting. In early 2013, it was announced that Victoria would join the National Premier Leagues , with

2320-404: The first and lower divisions, part of the competition's appeal stems from the fact that it is the only way that A-League Men and lower-tier clubs can play formal competitive matches. Adelaide United are the most successful team with three titles. Macarthur FC are the defending champions after defeating Melbourne Victory in the 2024 final for their second Australia Cup title. Australia has

2378-496: The following season's competition with the inclusion of the Australian Institute of Sport evening out the numbers to 16, and as the first part of reforms to the competition set to be brought about in 2008. The Australian Institute of Sport experiment was largely derided by the local clubs, and after their removal from the competition in 2008, the league reverted to 12 teams and a Top 5 Finals-Series in 2009. However,

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2436-694: The four lowest-ranked teams for the final two qualification slots. Since 2021, the winner of the competition also qualifies for one of the play-off spots for the following years' AFC club competitions (the AFC Champions League for 2022, the AFC Cup for 2023–24, and the AFC Champions League Two from 2024–25 onwards), unless Wellington Phoenix or Auckland FC are the winner. Since the Australian soccer league system provides no promotion and relegation mechanism between

2494-413: The historical Australia Cup trophy which ran from 1962 to 1968 . The cup itself is made from silver-soldered brass, which is plated with 24 carat gold and sterling silver. It has two handles which each have the badge of Football Federation Australia inscribed on the inside corners. Also inscribed on the cup is the design of the cup and the words FFA Cup . The trophy features two soccer balls , one as

2552-485: The knock out competition. On 14 October 2013, FFA announced that it had appointed Sam Chadwick as General Manager of the FFA Cup. On 24 February 2014, the FFA Cup was formally launched by David Gallop. The first member federation club to qualify for the FFA Cup was Tuggeranong United from the Australian Capital Territory . Tuggeranong United qualified for the 2014 FFA Cup as the winners of

2610-456: The league rebranded again to become the Victorian Premier League and the first finals to determine the champions were staged in 1992, won by the newly promoted North Geelong . Following the demise of the NSL in 2004, the remaining two Victorian NSL teams Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne were granted permission to play in the VPL season of 2005. The league received a major boost at the start of

2668-402: The league sees teams play 26 regular season fixtures, once at home and once away against each other club. The first-placed team at the conclusion of the regular season is termed the "premier". The top six-placed clubs then play a knock-out finals series , with the winner becoming the "champion". As of the 2025 season, the three bottom-placed teams at the conclusion of the season are relegated to

2726-399: The league slowly started regaining clubs, firstly those discarded when the conference system experiment was abandoned and later when clubs became permanently relegated by the NSL to their respective state leagues. The dominant side during the years from 1977 to 2004 was Green Gully , who won six titles during this period, despite also missing the years 1984–1986 from being in the NSL. In 1991

2784-491: The post-war influx of European migrants, whose dominance was established so effectively that no club which had won the title before 1952, Juventus ' first title, has won one since. Juventus would go on to dominate the league in the 1950s, winning six titles, including five in a row from 1952 to 1956. In 1958, after the Victorian Amateur Soccer Federation was formed, the league became known as

2842-526: The preliminary rounds and the main competition in 2021. In 2022 Sydney United 58 became the first National Premier Leagues club to reach the final of the Australia Cup, defeating A-League Men 's club Brisbane Roar in the semi-final. Up to and including the 2019 edition, the 32 teams that make up the Australia Cup competition proper have been the 10 A-League teams with the remaining 22 teams composed of various semi-professional and amateur qualifiers, referred to as "Member Federation Clubs", from each of

2900-412: The semi-finals. The winner of the grand final is crowned the champions. As all finals matches require a winner, they are all knock-out fixtures . If a draw occurs at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time are played. A penalty shoot-out is played if the teams are still drawn. NPL Victoria also operates a system of promotion and relegation with the division immediately below, VPL 1 . As of

2958-402: The sixth-ranked team, whilst the fourth-ranked team plays the fifth-ranked one. The two winners of the elimination finals meet the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the semi-finals. The premier in the regular season plays the lower-ranked qualifier from the elimination finals, whilst the runner-up plays the higher-ranked qualifier. The finals conclude with the grand final , played between the two winners of

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3016-446: The state federations, with the A-League clubs enter the competition at the Round of 32. Since 2021, the top eight placed A-League clubs for the season gain automatic qualification to the Round of 32. The remaining four teams are subject to a play-off series for the remaining two positions. The number of clubs representing each federation is determined by player registration numbers in each jurisdiction and reviewed annually. Teams from

3074-472: The teams from the A-League Men and was not in a traditional knockout format. The FFA Cup was previously scheduled to commence in 2013, though after suffering numerous delays due to FFA 's 2012 television coverage deal and rising cost concerns the competition was put on hold. On 29 August 2013, it was announced that a national FFA Cup would commence in 2014, after what would be two years of organising

3132-411: The teams share the Cup. The cup was not played in 1916–18 due to World War I but was played consecutively for the next 77 years from 1919 to 1996. Following the 1996 season, the Dockerty Cup was in recess before returning in 2004 as the "Crazy John's Cup", it would be run for three seasons before re-entering recess following the 2006 season. A Victorian cup competition was reintroduced in 2011 as

3190-591: The top eight placed A-League Men clubs for the previous season gain automatic qualification, with the remaining four teams subject to a play-off series for the remaining two positions. Since 2023 the playoffs have been held in Darwin as a promotional move. Since 2022, an open draw for each round is made from the Round of 32 to the Semi-Finals, with home ground preference given to Member Federation Clubs where they are drawn against A-League opposition. In 2021 there

3248-542: Was a restricted draw for the Round of 32 and Round of 16, split into different geographic zones to minimise travel requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. In prior years, the draw was made to ensure that there would be some progression of Member Federation Clubs to later rounds, including one Member Federation club guaranteed to make the Semi Final. Wellington Phoenix have additional restrictions imposed as they are

3306-419: Was allocated to Victoria. The competition proper is a five round, 32-team knockout tournament . In the event of a match being drawn after the completion of 90 minutes, extra time is played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if required. In some preliminary rounds, games can go straight to penalties if tied at 90 minutes. Up until the 2019 edition, all A-League teams entered at the Round of 32. From 2021, only

3364-445: Was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia . Since 2014 the Dockerty Cup winners also qualify for the following season's single-match FV Community Shield , the season opener played against the current NPL Victoria champions. The prize fund for the 2018 Dockerty Cup is detailed below. In 2019 it was announced that Football Victoria had signed a three-year broadcast arrangement with YouTube and Facebook that will see

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