2026 Australia Cup preliminary rounds

2026 Australia Cup preliminary rounds
Tournament details
CountryAustralia

The 2026 Australia Cup preliminary rounds will be the qualifying competition to decide teams to take part in the 2026 Australia Cup. The competition is scheduled to commence in January 2026 and conclude in June.

Schedule

The fixtures for the competition are as follows.

Round Number of fixtures Clubs A-League ACT[1] NSW[2] NNSW NT QLD[3] SA[4] TAS VIC[5] WA[6]
Qualifying round 31 Jan
First round 31 Jan–7 Feb 13–16 Feb
Second round 6–8 Mar 14 Feb–15 Mar 6–8 Feb 27 Feb–2 Mar 20–22 Feb
Third round 24–26 Feb 17–19 Mar 21 Feb–25 Mar 13–15 Feb 20–28 Feb 7–9 Mar 13–16 Mar 13–15 Mar
Fourth round 24 Mar–9 Apr 7–9 Apr 28 Feb–1 Mar 24 Mar–19 Apr 3–6 Apr 3–6 Apr 31 Mar–6 Apr 10–12 Apr
Fifth round 28 Apr–7 May 21–23 Apr 7–8 Mar 21–29 Apr 24–27 Apr 24–26 Apr 28–29 Apr 1–3 May
Sixth round 19–21 May 5–7 May 6 Jun 12–20 May 12–20 May 15–17 May 12–13 May 19–20 May
Seventh round 6–8 Jun 26–28 May 9–10 Jun 9–17 Jun 9–17 Jun 7–9 Jun 26–27 May 16–17 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) will enter this stage.
  • 102 Victorian clubs from level 7 and below entered this stage.
  • Second round:
  • 102 Queensland clubs (8 from the previous round, 24 regional teams and 70 metro teams from level 5 and below) will enter this stage.
  • 128 Victorian clubs (51 from the previous round and 63 teams from levels 5 and 6) entered this stage.
  • 16 Western Australian clubs from level 5 and below entered at this stage.
  • Third round:
  • 42 Western Australian clubs (8 from the previous round and 34 teams from levels 3 and 4) entered this stage.
  • Fourth round:
  • 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 will progress to this stage.
  • 32 New South Wales clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 16 Northern New South Wales clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 8 Northern Territory clubs (7 from the previous round and the winner of the 2025 NorZone Premier League) will enter this stage.
  • 32 Queensland clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 32 Victorian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 16 South Australian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 8 Tasmanian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 16 Western Australian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • Sixth round:
  • 4 Australian Capital Territory clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 16 New South Wales club will progress to this stage.
  • 8 Northern New South Wales clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 4 Northern Territory clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 16 Queensland clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 16 Victorian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 8 South Australian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 4 Tasmanian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • 8 Western Australian clubs will progress to this stage.
  • Seventh round:
  • 2 Australian Capital Territory clubs will progress to this stage, which will double as the Final of the Federation Cup.
  • 8 New South Wales clubs will progress to this stage. The 4 winners will also qualify for the final rounds of the Waratah Cup.
  • 4 Northern New South Wales clubs will progress to this stage. The 2 winners will also qualify for the Final of the NNSWF State Cup.
  • 2 Northern Territory clubs will progress to this stage, which will double as the NT Australia Cup Final.
  • 8 Queensland clubs will progress to this stage; 1 from Regional Queensland, and 7 from South East Queensland. The 4 winners will also qualify for the semi-finals of the Kappa Queensland Cup.
  • 4 South Australian clubs will progress to this stage. The 2 winners will also qualify for the final of the Federation Cup.
  • 2 Tasmanian clubs will progress to this stage, which will double as the Grand Final of the Milan Lakoseljac Cup.
  • 8 Victorian clubs will progress to this stage. The 4 winners will also qualify for the final rounds of the Dockerty Cup.
  • 4 Western Australian clubs will progress to this stage. The 2 winners will also qualify for the Final of the Football West State Cup.

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. Zone Tie no Home team (Tier) Score Away team (Tier)
Queensland
QLD CC 1 Southside United (6) w/o Clinton FC (5)
QLD WB 2 Doon Villa (5) w/o Bargara 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 (-), Footscray Rangers (11), Lara United (9), Laverton (8), Monash University (8), Murray United (11), Old St Kevins (10), Phillip Island (-), Reservoir United (-), Roxburgh Park United (11), Sale United (-), Truganina Lions (-), Warrnambool Rangers (-).

Second round

Notes
  • w/o = Walkover
  • † = After Extra Time
  • QLD Byes: Australian Catholic University (8), Baringa (5), Bilambil Terranora (7), Bribie Island (8), Burleigh Heads (5), Coomera FC (5), Gympie United (5), Jimboomba United (7), Kawana FC (5), Kingscliff (5), Logan Metro (6), Logan Roos (5), Maroochydore Swans (5), Mooroondu (7), Mt Gravatt Hawks (5), Mudgeeraba (5), Musgrave FC (5), Nerang (6), New Farm United (6), Newmarket (5), Noosa Lions (5), North Lakes United (5), Ormeau FC (5), Oxley United (8), Pimpama FC (6), Pine Rivers FC (7), QUT FC (7), Rockville Rovers (5), Slacks Creek (7), Stanthorpe Carlton Utd (6), Surfers Paradise Apollo (5), Tamborine Mountain (7), The Gap FC (6), UniSQFC (5), UQFC (5), Warwick FC (5), West Wanderers (5), Western Spirit (6), Westside Grovely (7), Yeronga Eagles (5).

Third round

Notes
  • w/o = Walkover
  • † = After Extra Time

Fourth round

Notes

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.