2026 Football Victoria Women's State Knockout Cup

2026 Football Victoria Women's State Knockout Cup
Essendon Royals players celebrating winning the 2026 Nike FC Cup
Tournament details
CountryAustralia
Dates19 March 2026 – 1 August 2026
Teams99
Final positions
ChampionsEssendon Royals SC (1st title)
Runners-upHeidelberg United
Tournament statistics
Top goal scorer(s)Maximillia Kostur
(11 goals)

All statistics correct as of 3 Augusty 2026.

The 2026 Football Victoria Women's State Knockout Cup is the ongoing 14th season of the Football Victoria Women's State Knockout Cup (known as the Nike F.C. Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition was open to all women's clubs in the state of Victoria.

South Melbourne were the defending champions, having beaten Heidelberg United to secure their 1st title in a row in the previous season's final.[1]

Format

Following South Melbourne's dramatic win over Heidelberg United in the 2025 final, 99 clubs from across Victoria competed for glory from March 22 through to when the 2026 Nike FC Cup Final was played and won on the weekend of August 1 at The Home of The Matildas. The 99 Teams would compete in the preliminary rounds to qualify for the quarter finals stage of the Football Victoria Women's State Knockout Cup. Over 5 rounds clubs would compete in knockout matches where teams from different tiers were introduced each round.[2]

Round Dates

Round Dates TEAMS PARTICIPATING
Round 1 Weekend of 22 March 2026 SLW 2–8, Metropolitan & Regional Affiliate
Round 2 Weekend of 5 & 12 April 2026 Round 1 Winners & SLW 1
Round 3 Weekend of 26 April 2026 Round 2 Winners & VPLW
Round 4 Weekend of 17 May 2026 Round 3 Winners & NPLW
Round 5 Weekend of 31 May 2026 Round 4 Winners
Quarter Finals Weekend of 14 June 2026 Round 5 Winners
Semi Finals Weekend of 5 July 2026 Quarter Final Winners
Cup Final 1 August 2026 Semi Final Winners

Bracket

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Grand Final
      
Bentleigh Greens 2
South Melbourne 3
South Melbourne 0
Heidelberg United 1
Heidelberg United 4
FC Clifton Hill 0
Heidelberg United 1
Essendon Royals 4
Box Hill United 2 (6)
FC Bulleen Lions (p) 2 (7)
FC Bulleen Lions 2
Essendon Royals 4
Alamein FC 1 (5)
Essendon Royals (p) 1 (6)

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 15 June 2023. FC Clifton Hill was the only non-NPL teams left in the draw.[3]

24 June 2026 Heidelberg United (1)4–0 FC Clifton Hill (2) Heidelberg West
19:30 AEST
  • H. Phillips 20'
  • O. Wood 25'
  • I. Razumic 38'
  • A. Bidwell 42'
 Report Stadium: Olympic Village
30 June 2026 Box Hill United (1)2–2 (a.e.t.)
(6–7 p)		 FC Bulleen Lions (1) Box Hill
19:30 AEST
  • J. Kawano 16', 68'
  • O. Bomford 46'
  • E. Bunnell 38'
 Stadium: Wembley Park
30 June 2026 Bentleigh Greens (1) 2–3South Melbourne (1)Cheltenham
20:00 AEST
  • M. Otero 12'
  • C. Ferreyra Bas 59'
  • M. Westland 10'
  • A. Pantazopoulos 43'
  • E. Roach 43'
 Stadium: Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
30 June 2026 Alamein FC (1) 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–6 p)		Essendon Royals (1)Bundoora
20:00 AEST
  • C. Blissett 112'
 Report
  • O. Bomford 95'
 Stadium: Home of the Matildas
Penalties
  • N.Duston football with check mark
  • E.Bougias football with red X
  • S.Laskey football with check mark
  • A.Liacopoulos football with check mark
  • C.Blissett football with check mark
  • M.Templeman football with check mark
  • H.Lohrey football with red X
  • football with check mark G.Maher
  • football with check mark K.McGroarty
  • football with check mark A.Sandhu
  • football with red X M.Jurcic
  • football with check mark A.Groba
  • football with check mark E.Langley
  • football with check mark I.Sewards

Semi-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 1 July 2023. After FC Clifton Hill's loss to Heidelberg United there was no more non-NPL teams left in the draw.[4]

14 July 2026 South Melbourne (1) 0–1Heidelberg United (1)Albert Park
19:30 AEST Report
  • H. Phillips 45'
 Stadium: Lakeside Stadium
15 July 2026 FC Bulleen Lions (1) 2–4Essendon Royals (1)Bulleen
19:45 AEST
  • C. Mihocic 6'
  • M. Markovski 11'
 Report
  • T. Eliadis red-colored football 13' (o.g.)
  • G. Maher 41'
  • P. Kingston-Hogg 58'
  • K. McGroarty 66'
 Stadium: Veneto Club

Grand Final

The Nike FC Cup Final was hosted at the Home of the Matildas on 1 August 2026. Essendon Royals would beat Heidelberg United 4–1 to mark their firs Nike FC Cup Final win in the clubs history.[5] Maggie Jenkins would also be awarded the Theresa Deas Medal after scoring two goals in the final.

1 August 2026 2026 Nike FC Cup Final Heidelberg United (1) 1–4Essendon Royals (1)Bundoora
18:00 AEST
  • M. Anderson 90+3'
 Report
Stadium: Home of the Matildas
Referee: Angelique Mangion
Assistant referees: Lynn Cho Man Yan
Assistant referees: Labrini Ouliaris
Fourth official: Daphne Gounaris
Man of the Match: Maggie Jenkins

References

  1. ↑ "FV – 2025 Nike FC Cup Final". GameDay. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  2. ↑ "2026 Nike FC Cup Round 1 and 2 Ball Draw Information | Football Victoria". footballvictoria.com.au. 2026-03-11. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  3. ↑ "Quarter Finals matchups confirmed for 2026 Nike FC Cup | Football Victoria". footballvictoria.com.au. 2026-06-15. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  4. ↑ "Semi Finals fixtures confirmed for 2026 Nike FC Cup | Football Victoria". footballvictoria.com.au. 2026-07-01. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
  5. ↑ "Essendon Royals crowned 2026 Nike FC Cup Winners with dominant Final victory | Football Victoria". footballvictoria.com.au. 2026-08-01. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
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