2026 Australia Cup preliminary rounds

2026 Australia Cup preliminary rounds
Tournament details
CountryAustralia

The 2026 Australia Cup preliminary rounds was the qualifying competition to decide teams to take part in the 2026 Australia Cup. The competition commenced in January 2026 and concluded in June.

Schedule

The fixtures for the competition are as follows.

RoundNumber of fixturesClubsACT[1]NSW[2]NNSWNTQLD[3]SA[4]TASVIC[5]WA[6]
Qualifying round2 walkovers
+ 14 byes
777 → 775————31 Jan————
First round56 + 18 byes775 → 719——–—31 Jan–7 Feb——13–16 Feb—
Second round158 + 41 byes719 → 561—6–14 Mar14 Feb–15 Mar—6–8 Feb——27 Feb–2 Mar20–22 Feb
Third round203 + 19 byes561 → 35824–26 Feb12–31 Mar21 Feb–25 Mar—13–15 Feb20–28 Feb7–9 Mar13–16 Mar13–15 Mar
Fourth round172 + 1 bye358 → 18610 Mar–14 Apr7–16 Apr28 Feb–29 Apr24 Mar–2 Apr24 Mar–11 Apr3–6 Apr3–6 Apr31 Mar–6 Apr10–12 Apr
Fifth round87 + 1 bye186 → 9928 Apr–5 May21–29 Apr7 Mar–13 May30 Mar–7 Apr21–29 Apr24–27 Apr24–26 Apr28–29 Apr1–2 May
Sixth round4499 → 5520–21 May5–13 May6 Jun2 May12–31 May12–20 May15–17 May12–13 May19 May
Seventh round2255 → 336 Jun26–28 May10 Jun21 May12–13 Jun10–17 Jun8 Jun26 May–2 Jun16 Jun
Victorian play-off round133 → 32———————16 Jun—

Format

The preliminary rounds structures were as follows, and refer to the different levels in the unofficial Australian soccer league system:

  • Qualifying round:
  • 18 Queensland clubs from Regional Queensland level 5 and below entered this stage.
  • First round:
  • 16 Queensland clubs (2 from the previous round and 14 regional teams from level 5 and below) entered this stage.
  • 102 Victorian clubs from level 7 and below entered this stage.
  • Second round:
  • 94 New South Wales clubs from the association clubs level (levels 5 and below) entered this stage.
  • 30 Northern New South Wales clubs (from the south zone teams from levels 4 to 6) entered this stage.
  • 102 Queensland clubs (8 from the previous round, 24 regional teams and 70 metro teams from level 5 and below) entered this stage.
  • 112 Victorian clubs (51 from the previous round and 61 teams from levels 5 and 6) entered this stage.
  • 16 Western Australian clubs from level 5 and below entered at this stage.
  • Third round:
  • 4 Australian Capital Territory clubs from level 3 and below entered this stage.
  • 100 New South Wales clubs (47 from the previous round and 53 teams from levels 3 and 4) entered this stage.
  • 42 Northern New South Wales clubs (15 from the previous round, 16 north zone teams, 11 south zone teams from levels and 4) entered this stage.
  • 82 Queensland clubs (72 from the previous round, and 10 teams from levels 4) entered this stage.
  • 58 South Australian clubs entered this stage, which doubled as the first stage of the 2026 FSA Federation Cup.
  • 19 Tasmanian clubs entered this stage.
  • 80 Victorian clubs (58 from the previous round and 22 teams from level 5) entered this stage.
  • 42 Western Australian clubs (8 from the previous round and 34 teams from levels 3 and 4) entered this stage.
  • Fourth round:
  • 16 Australian Capital Territory clubs (2 from the previous round, 14 teams from levels 2 and 3) entered this stage.
  • 64 New South Wales clubs (50 from the previous round and 14 teams from level 2) entered this stage.
  • 32 Northern New South Wales clubs (21 from the previous round and 11 south zone teams from level 2) entered this stage.
  • 11 Northern Territory clubs from level 2 and below entered this stage.
  • 64 Queensland clubs (41 from the previous round and 23 teams from levels 2 and 3) entered this stage.
  • 32 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 16 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 80 Victorian clubs (40 from the previous round and 40 teams from levels 2, 3 and 4) entered this stage.
  • 32 Western Australian clubs (21 from the previous round and 11 teams from level 2) entered this stage.
  • Fifth round:
  • 8 Australian Capital Territory clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 32 New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 16 Northern New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 8 Northern Territory clubs (2 from Alice Springs, 4 from the previous round and the winner of the 2025 NorZone Premier League) entered this stage.
  • 32 Queensland clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 40 Victorian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 16 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 8 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 16 Western Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • Sixth round:
  • 4 Australian Capital Territory clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 16 New South Wales club progressed to this stage.
  • 8 Northern New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 4 Northern Territory clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 16 Queensland clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 20 Victorian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 8 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 4 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • 8 Western Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
  • Seventh round:
  • 2 Australian Capital Territory clubs progressed to this stage, which doubled as the Final of the Federation Cup.
  • 8 New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage. The 4 winners also qualified for the final rounds of the Waratah Cup.
  • 4 Northern New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage. The 2 winners also qualified for the Final of the NNSWF State Cup.
  • 2 Northern Territory clubs progressed to this stage, which doubled as the NT Australia Cup Final.
  • 8 Queensland clubs progressed to this stage; 1 from Regional Queensland, and 7 from South East Queensland. The 4 winners also qualified for the semi-finals of the Kappa Queensland Cup.
  • 4 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage. The 2 winners also qualified for the final of the Federation Cup.
  • 2 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage, which doubled as the Grand Final of the Milan Lakoseljac Cup.
  • 10 Victorian clubs progressed to this stage. The 5 winners also qualified for the final rounds of the Dockerty Cup. Three of the winners progressed to the Round of 32, whilst two winners progressed to the play-off round.[7]
  • 4 Western Australian clubs progressed to this stage. The 2 winners also qualified for the Final of the Football West State Cup.
  • Victorian play-off round:
  • Two of the five Round 7 winners played-off for the last spot for the Round of 32.[7]

Key to abbreviations

Federation Zone
ACT = Australian Capital Territory
NSW = New South Wales
NNSW = Northern New South Wales NTH = North
STH = South
NT = Northern Territory ASP = Alice Springs
DAR = Darwin
QLD = Queensland CC = Central Coast
FNG = Far North and Gulf
NTH = Northern
REG = Regional Queensland (general)
WB = Wide Bay
WC = Whitsunday Coast
SEQ = South East Queensland
SA = South Australia
TAS = Tasmania
VIC = Victoria
WA = Western Australia

Qualifying round

Fed.ZoneTie noHome team (Tier)ScoreAway team (Tier)
Queensland
QLDCC1Southside United (6)w/oClinton FC (5)
QLDWB2Doon Villa (5)w/oBargara FC (5)
Notes:
  • w/o = Walkover
  • QLD Byes: Across The Waves (5), Berserker Bears (5), Bingera FC (5), Boyne Tannum FC (5), Bluebirds United (5), Brothers Aston Villa (5), Capricorn Coast FC (5), Central FC (5), SC Corinthians (5), Frenchville SC (5), Nerimbera FC (5), Sunbury Blues (5), United Park Eagles (5), United Warriors (5).

First round

Notes:
  • w/o = Walkover
  • † = After Extra Time
  • Vic Byes: Albert Park (8), Barnstoneworth United (8), Deakin University Ducks (9), Docklands Athletic (10), Dynamo Melbourne (11), Fitzroy Lions (12), Footscray Rangers (11), Lara United (9), Laverton FC (8), Monash University (8), Murray United (11), Old St Kevins (10), Phillip Island (12), Reservoir United (16), Roxburgh Park United (11), Sale United (12), Truganina Lions (12), Warrnambool Rangers (12).

Second round

Notes

Third round

Notes

Fourth round

Notes

Fifth round

Notes:

Sixth round

Notes:
  • † = After Extra Time

Seventh round

Notes:
  • † = After Extra Time

Victorian play-off round

Fed.ZoneTie noHome team (Tier)ScoreAway team (Tier)
Victoria
VIC—1Brunswick Juventus (3)1–0Bulleen Lions (3)

References

  1. ↑ "Hahn Australia Cup". Capital Football. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "2026 Competitions Calendar" (PDF). Football NSW. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "2026 Season Calendar" (PDF). Football Queensland. 7 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Calendar of Events 2026" (PDF). Football South Australia. 15 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Football Victoria 2026 Calendar" (PDF). Football Victoria. 24 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "Team nominations open for 2026 Hahn Australia Cup". Football West. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Blockbusters galore in New Balance Dockerty Cup Round 7". www.footballvictoria.com.au. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.