The 2018 FFA Cup preliminary rounds was the qualifying competition to decide 21 of the 32 teams which took part in the 2018 FFA Cup Round of 32, along with the 10 A-League clubs and reigning National Premier Leagues champion, Heidelberg United. The preliminary rounds operated within a consistent national structure whereby club entry into the competition was staggered in each federation, with the winning clubs from Round 7 of the preliminary rounds in each member federation gaining entry into the Round of 32. All Australian clubs were eligible to enter the qualifying process through their respective FFA member federation, however only one team per club was permitted entry in the competition.
The number of fixtures for each round, and the match dates for each Federation, were as follows.
Round | Number of fixtures | Clubs | ACT[1] | NSW | NNSW | NT | QLD[2] | SA | TAS[3] | VIC[4] | WA[5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Qualifying round | 32 + 11 byes | 781 → 749 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10–17 Feb | – |
First round | 57 + 16 byes | 749 → 692 | – | – | 24 Feb–14 Mar | – | 28 Feb–24 Mar | – | – | 23–25 Feb | – |
Second round | 171 + 80 byes | 692 → 521 | – | 9–13 Mar | 23 Feb–15 Apr | – | 15 Feb–11 Apr | 22–28 Mar | – | 2–6 Mar | 11–18 Mar |
Third round | 189 + 4 byes | 521 → 332 | 18 Mar–3 Apr | 14–28 Mar | 24 Mar–21 Apr | 27 Mar–17 Apr | 10 Mar–22 Apr | 9–14 Apr | 3 Mar | 8–11 Mar | 23–29 Mar |
Fourth round | 154 + 2 byes | 332 → 178 | 18 Apr–1 May | 3–11 Apr | 1–12 May | 1–8 May | 17 Mar–25 Apr | 25 Apr | 2 Apr | 17 Mar–2 Apr | 2 Apr |
Fifth round | 83 + 1 bye | 178 → 95 | 15–31 May | 2–9 May | 13–16 May | 9–22 May | 24 Mar–22 May | 5 May | 28–29 Apr | 11–24 Apr | 25 Apr |
Sixth round | 42 | 95 → 53 | 5–7 Jun | 15–23 May | 9 Jun | 5 Jun | 5 May–5 Jun | 22–23 May | 19 May | 1–9 May | 19–20 May |
Seventh round | 21 | 53 → 32 | 16 Jun | 30 May | 13 Jun | 23 Jun | 9–10 Jun | 11 Jun | 11 Jun | 23–30 May | 4 Jun |
The preliminary rounds structures were as follows,[4][6] and refer to the different levels in the unofficial Australian association football league system :
Note: Heidelberg United did not participate in the Victorian qualifying rounds, as they already qualified into the FFA Cup as 2017 National Premier Leagues champions.
Note: A-League Youth teams playing in their respective federation leagues are specifically excluded from the preliminary rounds as their respective Senior A-League clubs are already part of the competition.[10]
Federation | Zone | Sub Zone |
---|---|---|
ACT = Australian Capital Territory | ||
NSW = New South Wales | ||
NNSW = Northern New South Wales | NTH = North | FNC = Far North Coast MNC = Mid North Coast NC = North Coast NI = Northern Inland |
STH = South | ||
NT = Northern Territory | ASP = Alice Springs DAR = Darwin |
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QLD = Queensland | BNE = Brisbane | |
NQL = North Queensland | CQ = Central Queensland FNQ = Far North Queensland MRF = Mackay Regional Football NQ = North Queensland WB = Wide Bay | |
SQL = South Queensland | GC = Gold Coast SC = Sunshine Coast SWQ = South West Queensland | |
SA = South Australia | ||
TAS = Tasmania | ||
VIC = Victoria | ||
WA = Western Australia |
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