Football Federation Australia (FFA) has confirmed the slot allocations for the upcoming FFA Cup 2019 competition with Football Queensland (FQ) allocated four spots.
Football NSW receive five (5) slots, Football Queensland and Football Victoria four (4) slots, Northern NSW Football and Football West two (2) slots, while Football Federation South Australia, Football Federation Tasmania, Capital Football (ACT) and Football Federation Northern Territory each have one (1) slot.
Within Queensland, FQ can confirm two qualification regions in 2019:
- South East Queensland (including Sunshine Coast Football, Football South West, Football Brisbane and Football Gold Coast)
- Central & Northern Queensland (including Football Wide Bay, Central Queensland Football, Mackay Regional Football Zone, North Queensland Football, North West Queensland Football and Far North Queensland Football.
The South East Queensland qualification region will compete for three (3) qualification spots and the Central & Northern Queensland qualification region will compete for one (1) spot.
“Over the last few seasons, Football Queensland has received feedback from our member zones regarding the FFA Cup qualification process for our state,” FQ General Manager, Competitions and Leagues Craig Morris said.
“This new format seeks to address the issues raised by providing more variety of opposition and qualification opportunities for each zone, while taking into consideration the geographical and logistical challenges of involved in football across Queensland.
“The 2019 FFA Cup is gearing up to be the one of the biggest and best years for Queensland and we look forward to working with clubs and our zones in what will be an exciting competition.”
The South East Queensland qualification path will begin on March 1-3 2019 (Round 2) with the draw for this taking place on Wednesday, 20 February 2019.
The draw will be livestreamed by FQ. More information will be confirmed shortly.
The Central & Northern Queensland qualification path will see intra-zone matches between Rounds 1-3 with the final winner of the qualification region confirmed in Round 7.
FFA Head of Leagues Greg O’Rourke is looking forward to another exciting edition of the FFA Cup.
“Since inception, the FFA Cup has definitely captured the imagination of the football family around Australia,” O’Rourke said.
“As we progress into our sixth edition of the FFA Cup, coupled with the recent expansion announcement, FFA will continue to review the slot allocation framework for 2020 and beyond to improve and expand the competition.”
10 Hyundai A-League clubs will enter the FFA Cup 2019 at the Round of 32 with the remaining Member Federation slot taken by Campbelltown City SC, who received automatic entry into the FFA Cup 2019 Round of 32 as national 2018 NPL Champions.
Following the recent announcement regarding the two new expansion clubs entering the Hyundai A-League, FFA, in consultation with the new clubs, have determined that neither club will participate in the FFA Cup 2019 competition.