National Cups Archive

A brief history The idea of a national cup competition had often confounded the administrators of the day - how do you get teams from a country as large as Australia to come together to determine the champion club of Australia? The Australian Soccer Federation, still banned from FIFA finally took the plunge in 1962, with the Australia Cup making its debut and Yugal defeating South Sydney's Budapest in the final. While the Australia Cup would attract much interest, largely to see which club from New South Wales or Victoria would hold the trophy aloft, escalating costs and a lack of genuine sponsorship meant that it folded by 1968. The birth of the National Soccer League (NSL) in 1977 witnessed the return of a national cup to mirror its league counterpart, and the inaugural edition was contested solely by the NSL clubs. From 1978 to 1981, state league teams were given the opportunity to test themselves against the NSL clubs, a model revived in 1985 and 1986, before the competition would ultimately serve as a pre-season tournament for NSL clubs. The final edition in 1996-97 would be won by Collingwood Warriors, who defeated Marconi by a lone goal at Lakeside Stadium. With the NSL consigned to defunct status by 2004, the A-League would also deliver a pre-season cup tournament, contested for four seasons and based on a two-pool round-robin format, the last three editions each drawing close to 10,000 fans in the final. The FFA Cup made its debut in 2014, and for the first time, the competition was virtually open to every club in Australia, with qualifying matches played within each member federation resulting in an initial 32 entrants representative from every corner of the country. With non A-League clubs guaranteed at least one place in the semi-finals, the FFA Cup genuinely connected grassroots football clubs to the football pyramid. While the global pandemic put paid to the event in 2020, the final edition in 2021 was won by Melbourne Victory, who defeated the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in the final at AAMI Park. With Football Australia's self imposed rebrand, the FFA Cup was ultimately rebranded the 'Australia Cup' in 2022, paying homage to the original tournament which bore the same name. Whether it has the short life span of its predecessor remains to be seen.
FFA Cup

2021 \| 2019 \| 2018 \| 2017 \| 2016 \| 2015 \| 2014

A-League Pre-Season Cup

2008-2009 \| 2007-2008 \| 2006-2007 \| 2005-2006

NSL Cup

1996-97 \| 1995-1996 \| 1994-1995 \| 1993-1994 \| 1992-1993 \| 1991-1992 \| 1990-1991 \| 1989-1990
1989 \| 1988 \| 1987 \| 1986 \| 1985 \| 1984 \| 1983 \| 1982 \| 1981 \| 1980
1979 \| 1978 \| 1977

Australia Cup

1968 \| 1967 \| 1966 \| 1965 \| 1964 \| 1963 \| 1962

A brief history The idea of a national cup competition had often confounded the administrators of the day - how do you get teams from a country as large as Australia to come together to determine the champion club of Australia? The Australian Soccer Federation, still banned from FIFA finally took the plunge in 1962, with the Australia Cup making its debut and Yugal defeating South Sydney's Budapest in the final. While the Australia Cup would attract much interest, largely to see which club from New South Wales or Victoria would hold the trophy aloft, escalating costs and a lack of genuine sponsorship meant that it folded by 1968. The birth of the National Soccer League (NSL) in 1977 witnessed the return of a national cup to mirror its league counterpart, and the inaugural edition was contested solely by the NSL clubs. From 1978 to 1981, state league teams were given the opportunity to test themselves against the NSL clubs, a model revived in 1985 and 1986, before the competition would ultimately serve as a pre-season tournament for NSL clubs. The final edition in 1996-97 would be won by Collingwood Warriors, who defeated Marconi by a lone goal at Lakeside Stadium. With the NSL consigned to defunct status by 2004, the A-League would also deliver a pre-season cup tournament, contested for four seasons and based on a two-pool round-robin format, the last three editions each drawing close to 10,000 fans in the final. The FFA Cup made its debut in 2014, and for the first time, the competition was virtually open to every club in Australia, with qualifying matches played within each member federation resulting in an initial 32 entrants representative from every corner of the country. With non A-League clubs guaranteed at least one place in the semi-finals, the FFA Cup genuinely connected grassroots football clubs to the football pyramid. While the global pandemic put paid to the event in 2020, the final edition in 2021 was won by Melbourne Victory, who defeated the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in the final at AAMI Park. With Football Australia's self imposed rebrand, the FFA Cup was ultimately rebranded the 'Australia Cup' in 2022, paying homage to the original tournament which bore the same name. Whether it has the short life span of its predecessor remains to be seen.
FFA Cup

2021 \| 2019 \| 2018 \| 2017 \| 2016 \| 2015 \| 2014

A-League Pre-Season Cup

2008-2009 \| 2007-2008 \| 2006-2007 \| 2005-2006

NSL Cup

1996-97 \| 1995-1996 \| 1994-1995 \| 1993-1994 \| 1992-1993 \| 1991-1992 \| 1990-1991 \| 1989-1990
1989 \| 1988 \| 1987 \| 1986 \| 1985 \| 1984 \| 1983 \| 1982 \| 1981 \| 1980
1979 \| 1978 \| 1977

Australia Cup

1968 \| 1967 \| 1966 \| 1965 \| 1964 \| 1963 \| 1962