The Men’s Australia Cup Preliminary Rounds are well underway with over 750 clubs quickly being whittled down for the 32 team tournament.
The NPL Victoria teams enjoyed a break from regular fixtures in order to participate in the Australia Cup Qualification 4th round ties and states across the country will soon follow as the Australia Cup proper draws closer.
Although the men’s tournament is in full swing though, no news has broken about the promised Women’s edition since the FA’s last announcement in 2023.
Back then the FA announced it would launch a Women’s Australia Cup in 2024 as part of its Women’s World Cup legacy plans, to run alongside the men’s competition.
It was also reported that the competition would “act as a second qualification path to the incoming AFC Women’s Champions League”.
The lack of communication despite a deadline closing in on broken promise territory is concerning for fans however an analysis of the possible delay factors provide some insight.
Contract Preparation
The announcement may be waiting on the completion of the current A-League Women’s competition.
This will give ALW clubs a clearer path to plan the upcoming season which could feature the additional tournament, including revising player contracts.
The Women’s Australia Cup will be uniquely challenged by the limited overlap between ALW and Grassroots seasons. This has meant that many ALW players participate in Grassroots competitions during the year and could be faced the choice of which team to play for during the competition.
Updated playing contracts in the offseason would be expected to secure player services to ALW teams and not their Grassroots clubs.
Smaller Pool
Although over 750 teams have entered the men’s competition, there are fewer women’s teams in FA competitions which may allow for the competition qualification to begin later. As such the FA may have given themselves more time to finalise the competition and announce the competition.
The ALW also has fewer teams (12, subject to Canberra’s continuance) and it is suspected faces a greater gap in ability between it and the Grassroots. These factors may necessitate a shorts Cup competition proper of 16 teams rather than 32, allowing even more delays for an announcement
Media Deal and Priorities
The competition may also be suspended to be launched in line with the new broadcast arrangements of the FA, as was partly the case for the FA’s new National Second Division.
This would make sense as it would provide greater broadcast security and visability.
In addition to this the competition may simply have fallen down the priority list for the FA who are now faced with launching a National Second Division in 2025 as well as potentially hosting a Women’s Asian Cup on home soil soon after.
Whatever the reason, considering the FA’s promise, fans deserve an update on the status of the Women’s Australia Cup.
The Beautiful Game 