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The 2018 FFA Cup preliminary rounds was the qualifying competition to decide 21 of the 32 teams which took part in the 2018 FFA Cup Round of 32, along with the 10 A-League clubs and reigning National Premier Leagues champion, Heidelberg United. The preliminary rounds operated within a consistent national structure whereby club entry into the competition was staggered in each federation, with the winning clubs from Round 7 of the preliminary rounds in each member federation gaining entry into the Round of 32. All Australian clubs were eligible to enter the qualifying process through their respective FFA member federation, however only one team per club was permitted entry in the competition.
Schedule
The number of fixtures for each round, and the match dates for each Federation, were as follows.
9 Queensland clubs level 4 and below entered this stage.
66 Victorian clubs level 7 and below entered this stage.
First round:
19 Northern NSW clubs level 4 and below entered this stage.
16 Queensland clubs (7 from the previous round and 9 level 4–5) entered this stage.
95 Victorian clubs (36 from the previous round and 59 level 6–7) entered this stage.
Second round:
120 New South Wales clubs level 6 and below entered this stage.
60 Northern NSW clubs (16 from the previous round and 34 level 4 and below) entered this stage.
83 Queensland clubs (9 from the previous round and 74 level 4 and below) entered this stage.
42 South Australian clubs level 3 and below entered this stage.
84 Victorian clubs (48 from the previous round and 36 level 5–6) entered this stage.
32 Western Australian clubs level 5 and below entered this stage. For matches where the scores were equal at full-time, they went straight to penalties.
Third round:
14 Australian Capital Territory clubs level 3 and below entered this stage.
114 New South Wales clubs (88 from the previous round and 26 level 4–5) entered this stage.
42 Northern NSW clubs (31 from the previous round and 11 level 3) entered this stage.
8 Northern Territory clubs level 2 and below entered this stage.
58 Queensland clubs (52 from the previous round and 6 level 4) entered this stage.
32 South Australian clubs (21 from the previous round and 11 level 2) entered this stage.
12 Tasmanian clubs level 3 entered this stage.
66 Victorian clubs (42 from the previous round and 24 level 4) entered this stage.
32 Western Australian clubs (16 from the previous round and 22 level 3–4) entered this stage.
Fourth round:
16 Australian Capital Territory clubs (7 from the previous round and 9 level 2) entered this stage.
80 New South Wales clubs (57 from the previous round and 23 level 2–3) entered this stage.
31 Northern NSW clubs (21 from the previous round and 10 level 2) entered this stage.
5 Northern Territory clubs progressed to this stage.
50 Queensland clubs (31 from the previous round and 19 level 2–3) entered this stage.
16 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
16 Tasmanian clubs (6 from the previous round and 10 level 2–3) entered this stage.
64 Victorian clubs (33 from the previous round and 31 level 2–3) entered this stage.
32 Western Australian clubs (19 from the previous round and 13 level 2) entered this stage.
Fifth round:
8 Australian Capital Territory clubs progressed to this stage.
40 New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage.
16 Northern New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage.
7 Northern Territory clubs (3 from the previous round and 4 clubs from the Alice Springs zone) entered this stage.
32 Queensland clubs (25 from the previous round and 7 level 2) entered this stage.
8 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
8 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage.
32 Victorian clubs progressed to this stage.
16 Western Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
Sixth round:
4 Australian Capital Territory clubs progressed to this stage, and also got a home fixture when they entered the 2019 FFA Cup preliminary rounds.
20 New South Wales 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.
4 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage.
4 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage.
16 Victorian 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.
10 New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage. The 5 winners also participated in the final rounds of the Waratah Cup.
4 Northern New South Wales clubs progressed to this stage.
2 Northern Territory clubs progressed to this stage – the winners of the Darwin-based and Alice Springs-based knockout competitions – which doubled as the final of the Sport Minister's Cup.
8 Queensland clubs progressed to this stage.
2 South Australian clubs progressed to this stage, which doubled as the Grand Final of the Federation Cup.
2 Tasmanian clubs progressed to this stage, which doubled as the Grand Final of the Milan Lakoseljac Cup.
8 Victorian clubs progressed to this stage. The 4 winners, plus Heidelberg United, also qualified to the final rounds of the Dockerty Cup.
4 Western Australian clubs progressed to this stage. The 2 winners also played in the Final of the Football West State Cup.
Note: A-League Youth teams playing in their respective federation leagues are specifically excluded from the preliminary rounds as their respective Senior A-League clubs are already part of the competition.
Key to abbreviations
Federation
Zone
Sub Zone
ACT = Australian Capital Territory
NSW = New South Wales
NNSW = Northern New South Wales
NTH = North
FNC = Far North Coast MNC = Mid North Coast NC = North Coast NI = Northern Inland
STH = South
NT = Northern Territory
ASP = Alice Springs DAR = Darwin
QLD = Queensland
BNE = Brisbane
NQL = North Queensland
CQ = Central Queensland FNQ = Far North Queensland MRF = Mackay Regional Football NQ = North Queensland WB = Wide Bay
SQL = South Queensland
GC = Gold Coast SC = Sunshine Coast SWQ = South West Queensland