Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

Events and Attractions

Football Federation Australia's FFA Cup To Link Grassroots Level With Top Clubs

Amateur footballers across Australia can "dream of toppling the giants of the A-League in a meaningful competition with the introduction of a national knockout competition," the Football Federation Australia Cup, beginning in July, according to Dominic Bossi of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The tournament will "provide a definitive link between the grassroots level of the game and the elite clubs with a meaningful national and cross-tier competition." There is "a resemblance with the oldest competition in football, the FA Cup in Britain," though the first few years of the Australian version are unlikely to include "such an abundance of romantic runs of amateur clubs" (SMH, 2/25).

LARGE FIELD: In Sydney, Ray Gatt reported more than 600 teams "from all six states and Canberra will play off against each other for 22 spots and the right to join the 10 A-League clubs in the round of 32." FFA CEO David Gallop said, "This has been in the pipeline for a number of years. It is the Holy Grail for football in making a true connection between the grassroots and the professional level. I can hardly think of a better way to do that than create a cup competition like this" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/25).

WHO'S GOT NEXT? In Melbourne, Smithies & Davutovic reported four of Victoria’s participants -- "most likely the semi-finalists of the Dockerty Cup -- will join the A-League and interstate sides in the Round of 32, starting late July." The tournament is costing almost A$1M ($900,000) to stage, and the draw has been "deliberately engineered to give semi-professional teams who advance to its latter stages the best opportunity of embarrassing the A-League clubs." At least one minor side is "guaranteed to reach the semi-finals, with 10 games to be broadcast on Fox Sports and a modest prizemoney pool" of A$120,000 including A$40,000 for the winning team. FFA will cover the traveling and accommodation costs for "each away team from the Round of 32, and the whole tournament leads to a final in December -- held this year, like all preceding rounds, on a Tuesday" (HERALD SUN, 2/24).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2014/02/25/Events-and-Attractions/FFA-Cup.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2014/02/25/Events-and-Attractions/FFA-Cup.aspx

CLOSE