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The 2021 FFA Cup was the eighth season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. Thirty-two teams contested the competition proper from the round of 32, including 10 of the 12 A-League teams (with two teams not qualifying), 21 Football Australia (FA) member federation teams determined through individual state qualifying rounds, as well as the 2019 National Premier Leagues champions (Wollongong Wolves from New South Wales).

This year's competition was the final season the competition is referred to as the "FFA Cup". Following the rebranding of Football Australia from the Football Federation Australia (FFA), it was changed to "Australia Cup".

This edition also marked the first season that the winner would qualify for the AFC Champions League in the following year. However, certain teams were excluded, such as Wellington Phoenix, three other A-league teams or any teams from the National Premier Leagues.

The competition format and timing was impacted by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

Round and dates

Teams

A total of 32 teams are scheduled to participate in the 2021 FFA Cup competition proper, ten of which are from the A-League Men, one the 2019 National Premier Leagues champions (Wollongong Wolves), and the remaining 21 teams from member federations, as determined by the qualifying rounds.

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. For the first time, the round of 32 and round of 16 were split into four geographical zones (East, South, North and West) which were determined by Football Australia.

A-League clubs
East Zone	North Zone	South Zone	West Zone
Central Coast Mariners	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne City	Adelaide United
Macarthur FC		Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne Victory
Sydney FC		Western United
Western Sydney Wanderers
Member federation clubs
APIA Leichhardt (2)	Casuarina FC (2)	Avondale FC (2)	Adelaide City (2)
Blacktown City (2)	Edge Hill United (5)	Devonport City (2)	Adelaide Olympic (2)
Broadmeadow Magic (2)	Gold Coast Knights (2)	Hume City (2)	ECU Joondalup (2)
Mt Druitt Town Rangers (2)	Lions FC (2)	Port Melbourne (2)	Floreat Athena (2)
Newcastle Olympic (2)	Peninsula Power (2)	South Melbourne (2)
Sydney Olympic (2)
Tigers FC (2)
Wollongong Wolves (2)

Preliminary rounds

Member federations teams competed in various state-based preliminary rounds to win one of 21 places in the competition proper (round of 32). All Australian clubs were eligible to enter the qualifying process through their respective member federation, however only one team per club was permitted entry in the competition. The preliminary rounds operated 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. There were changes to the make-up of the entrants compared to the 2019 edition, with South Australia increasing from 1 to 2 qualifying places, with NSW losing one place. Additionally, the top eight placed A-League clubs for the 2020–21 A-League season gained automatic qualification to the round of 32. The remaining four teams were subject to a play-off series for the remaining two positions.

The first matches of the preliminary rounds began in February 2021, with the final matches of the preliminary rounds (two A-League play-offs) completed in November.

Bracket

Round of 32

The round of 32 draw took place on 8 July 2021, with match information for zones North, South and West confirmed on 14 July 2021. Edge Hill United were the lowest-ranked side in this round. They were the only level 5 team left in the competition. After Devonport City withdrew from the competition, Avondale FC were awarded a bye to the round of 16.

Times listed below are at AEST (prior to 5 October 2021), or AEDT (after 5 October 2021)

East Zone

North Zone

South Zone

West Zone

Round of 16

Due to fixture delays as a result of COVID-19 and State border restrictions, the round of 16 draw was conducted in two parts. The first draw took place on 30 September where the winners from the North & West zones were combined into one pool to determine the three fixtures. On 15 November the remaining draw was conducted with the East & South zones remaining separated.

The lowest ranked sides that qualified for this round were Adelaide Olympic, APIA Leichhardt Tigers, Avondale FC, Gold Coast Knights, Hume City, Lions FC and Wollongong Wolves. They were the only level 2 teams left in the competition.

All times listed below are at AEDT

East Zone

North/West Zone

South Zone

Quarter-finals

The draw took place on 5 December 2021. The lowest ranked side that qualified for this round was APIA Leichhardt Tigers. They were the only level 2 team left in the competition.

All times listed below are at AEDT

5 January 2022	Adelaide United (1)	1–2	Melbourne Victory (1)	Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
19:45	Goodwin 33'	Report	Brillante 62' Margiotta 79' (pen.)	Attendance: 3,156 Referee: Alex King

12 January 2022	Sydney FC (1)	1–0	Brisbane Roar (1)	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
18:00	Kamsoba 63'	Report		Attendance: 1,050 Referee: Tim Danaskos

Semi-finals

The draw took place on 6 January 2022. This was a rare occurrence of all four semi-finalists being members of the top flight.

All times listed below are at AEDT

18 January 2022	Sydney FC (1)	0–1	Central Coast Mariners (1)	Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
19:00		Report	Ureña 82' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,135 Referee: Alex King

Final

Melbourne Victory	2–1	Central Coast Mariners
Davidson 70' Ikonomidis 90+5'	Report	Bozanic 90+7'

Individual honours

The recipient of the Michael Cockerill Medal to recognise the tournament's standout National Premier Leagues performer was Finn Beakhurst from Lions FC. Jake Brimmer from Melbourne Victory and Kye Rowles from Central Coast Mariners won the Mark Viduka Medal for the players of the match in the final, the first time in the competition's history that there's been dual recipients.

Top goalscorers

As of 29 January 2022

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Cyrus Dehmie	Brisbane Roar	3
2	Joshua Brillante	Melbourne Victory	2
	Nicholas D'Agostino	Melbourne Victory
	Jordan Farina	Lions FC
	Scott Galloway	Melbourne City
	Elvis Kamsoba	Sydney FC
	Moresche	Central Coast Mariners
	Jason Romero	APIA Leichhardt
	Lachlan Rose	Macarthur FC
	Jaushua Sotirio	Wellington Phoenix
	Ben Waine	Wellington Phoenix

Note

Goals scored in preliminary rounds not included.

Broadcasting rights

Matches were broadcast live on 10 Play. The final was broadcast on free-to-air TV through Network 10, a first for the competition.

Notes

1. Wellington Phoenix could not qualify for AFC competitions as they come from New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation
2. Neither Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets nor Perth Glory were able to qualify as they were not granted an AFC licence for 2022 for either the AFC Champions League or the AFC Cup.
3. Teams from the National Premier Leagues could not qualify as they were not granted an AFC licence for 2022 for either the AFC Champions League or the AFC Cup.
4. subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. ^ "Stand-alone Final and AFC Champions League prize to headline rebooted FFA Cup in 2021". Football Australia. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
2. "FFA Cup 2021 set for kick-off in Queensland". Football Australia. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
3. "'Australia Cup' name to return to Australia's largest national knockout football competition". Football Australia. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
4. "How the FFA Cup playoffs for A-League clubs work". Football Australia. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
5. ^ "List of Licensed Clubs for the 2022 AFC Champions League" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
6. ^ "List of Licensed Clubs for the 2022 AFC Cup" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
7. "FFA Cup round 5 Fixture Postponement". Football Australia. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
8. "FFA Cup 2021 Fixture Update". Football Australia. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
9. "Football Australia unveil 2021 Domestic Match Calendar". Football Australia. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
10. "Date set for FFA Cup 2021 Round of 32 Live Draw". theffacup.com.au. Football Australia. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
11. "The wait is over: FFA Cup Final Rounds to commence tonight live & free on Network 10". myfootball.com.au. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
12. "Football South Australia secure a second FFA Cup spot". Football SA. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
13. "Football NSW Cancel 2021 National Premier Leagues Season". Football NSW. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
14. "OFFICIAL: The FFA Cup Round of 32 match-ups". FFA Cup. Football Australia. 8 July 2021.
15. "FFA Cup 2021 begins transition to weekend matches as Round of 32 Fixture Schedule Confirmed". FFA Cup. Football Australia. 14 July 2021.
16. "Football Australia can announce the details surrounding the final three (3) FFA Cup 2021 Round of 32 matches yet to be played". FFA Cup. Football Australia. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
17. "Match-ups revealed for FFA Cup Round of 16 North/West Zone". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
18. "FFA Cup Round of 16 fixtures for East Zone & South Zone revealed". 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
19. "FFA Cup 2021 Quarter Final match-ups revealed". FFA Cup. 5 December 2021.
20. Lynch, Michael (5 February 2022). "Davidson blasts Victory to FFA Cup glory". The Age. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
21. FFA Cup (5 February 2022). "Presenting your FFA Cup 2021 Mike Cockerill Medalist: Finn Beakhurst from @lionsfc1" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
22. Harrington, Anna (5 February 2022). "Popovic delights in Victory FFA Cup glory". Seven News. For the first time, the Mark Viduka Medal for player of the match was a tie, with Victory midfielder Jake Brimmer and Mariners defender Kye Rowles, who only returned from his first Socceroos call-up on Friday, sharing the honour.
23. "How to watch the FFA Cup in 2021". Football Australia. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
24. "Football Australia reaches landmark media rights agreement with 10 ViacomCBS". Football Australia. 15 June 2021.

External links

• Official website

• 2021 Asian domestic association football cups
• 2020–21 in Australian men's soccer
• 2021–22 in Australian men's soccer
• Australia Cup seasons