The 2022 Australia Cup was the ninth season of the Australia Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This edition was the first under the new name of the "Australia Cup" following the renaming of Football Federation Australia to Football Australia. Thirty-two teams contested the competition proper.
Melbourne Victory were the defending champions but were eliminated by Western United in the Round of 32. Macarthur FC won the first trophy in their history after defeating Sydney United 58 in the final. Sydney United 58 was the first member federation club to qualify for the Australia Cup final, with the Australia Cup final also being the first to feature two teams of the same state.
The 2022 edition was the first in which the winners qualified for the AFC Cup. Macarthur FC competed in the 2023–24 edition, reaching the ASEAN zonal final before being defeated by Central Coast Mariners.
Round and dates RoundDraw dateMatch datesNumber of fixturesTeamsNew entries this roundPreliminary roundsVarious11 February–2 July718750 → 32742Round of 3229 June21 July–4 August1632 → 168Round of 163 August10–17 August816 → 8NoneQuarter-finals17 August27–31 August48 → 4NoneSemi-finals 31 August11–14 September24 → 2NoneFinal—1 October12 → 1None
Teams A total of 32 teams will participate in the 2022 Australia Cup competition proper.
A-League Men clubs represent the highest level in the Australian league system, whereas Member Federation clubs come from level 2 and below. A-League clubsAdelaide UnitedBrisbane RoarCentral Coast MarinersMacarthur FC Melbourne City Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets Sydney FC Wellington Phoenix Western UnitedMember federation clubs Monaro Panthers (2) Bonnyrigg White Eagles (3) NWS Spirit (3) Sydney United 58 (2) Wollongong United (6) Broadmeadow Magic (2) Newcastle Olympic (2) Mindil Aces (2) Brisbane City (2) Logan Lightning (2) Magpies Crusaders United (3) Peninsula Power (2) Adelaide City (2) Modbury Jets (3) Devonport City (2) Avondale FC (2) Bentleigh Greens (2) Green Gully (2) Heidelberg United (2) Oakleigh Cannons (2) Armadale SC (2) Cockburn City (2)
Prize fund The prize fund has been unchanged since 2015, though this is the first year the winner will also benefit from participating in the 2023–24 AFC Cup. Round No. of Clubsreceive fund Prize fund Round of 16 8 $2,000 Quarter-finalists 4 $5,000 Semi-finalists 2 $10,000 Final runners-up 1 $25,000 Final winner 1 $50,000 Total $131,000
Preliminary rounds
Member federation teams are competing in various state-based preliminary rounds to win one of 22 places in the competition proper (at the Round of 32). All Australian clubs (other than youth teams associated with A-League franchises) are eligible to enter the qualifying process through their respective member federation; however, only one team per club is permitted entry into the competition. The preliminary rounds operate within a consistent national structure whereby club entry into the competition is staggered in each state/territory, determined by what level the club sits at in the Australian soccer league system. This ultimately leads to round 7 with the winning clubs from that round entering directly into the round of 32.
As there was no NPL Champion in the previous year, an additional slot was allocated to Victoria for this edition only.
The top eight placed A-League Men clubs from the 2021–22 A-League Men season gained automatic qualification to the Round of 32. The remaining four teams entered a play-off series to determine the remaining two positions.
FederationAssociated competitionRound of 32 qualifiers Football Australia A-League Men10Capital Football (ACT)Federation Cup (ACT)1Football NSWWaratah Cup4Northern NSW Football—2Football Northern Territory NT Australia Cup Final 1Football Queensland—4Football South AustraliaFederation Cup (SA)2Football TasmaniaMilan Lakoseljac Cup1Football VictoriaDockerty Cup5Football West (WA)State Cup2
Bracket
Round of 32 The round of 32 draw took place on 29 June 2022. The lowest ranked side that qualified for this round was Wollongong United. They were the only level 6 team left in the competition.
Times are AEST (UTC+10), as listed by Football Australia (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Round of 16 The round of 16 draw took place on 3 August 2022. The lowest ranked side that qualified for this round was Modbury Jets. They were the only level 3 team left in the competition.
Times are AEST (UTC+10), as listed by Football Australia (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Quarter-finals The quarter-finals draw took place on 17 August 2022. The lowest ranked sides that qualified for this round were Oakleigh Cannons, Peninsula Power and Sydney United 58. They were the only level 2 teams left in the competition.
Times are AEST (UTC+10), as listed by Football Australia (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Semi-finals The semi-finals draw took place on 31 August 2022. The lowest ranked sides that qualified for this round were Oakleigh Cannons and Sydney United 58. They were the only level 2 teams left in the competition.
Final
Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Al Hassan ToureMacarthur FC52 Liam BolandAvondale FC4 Joe GuestOakleigh Cannons4 Daniel ArzaniMacarthur FC3 Ulises DávilaMacarthur FC Wade DekkerOakleigh Cannons Yuta HirayamaBrisbane City Lachlan RoseMacarthur FC Ben WaineWellington Phoenix1012 playersVarious2
Broadcasting rights Matches were broadcast through 10 Play and the final was shown live on Network 10.
See also Sydney United 58 FC at the 2022 Australia Cup
References
External links Official website