FORMER Socceroo Paul Reid knows the thrill of a small, battling club getting a chance in the FA Cup.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That is why he welcomes the introduction of our own, inaugural FFA (Football Federation of Australia) Cup competition in Australia.
Reid, now playing for Rockdale City Suns in the NSW Premier League first division pre-season cup, remembers how the fans of his then overseas club, Brighton, packed the ground for their big FA Cup clash against English Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspurs.
"We [Brighton] were not going well in our own division at the time, but we advanced through the FA Cup competition," he said at the FFA Cup launch yesterday at Rockdale's Ilinden centre.
"That's the thing. Any struggling club can still get a chance to advance in the mid-week Cup, like we did. Unfortunately we were beaten 2-1 that day but Brighton sure gave a good account of itself."
Grassroots clubs and Premier League clubs like Rockdale, Sutherland Sharks and St George FC will get a chance to play and even host A-League clubs in the FFA Cup, based on the successful FA Cup in Great Britain, which gives non-professional clubs in NSW and other states the chance to qualify.
Preliminary matches involving more than 600 clubs around Australia have commenced, ahead of the national knock-out FFA Cup round of 32, kicking off in late July on a Tuesday night, before 10 A-League clubs join 22 others who had advanced from the eight feeder states and territory. The FFA Cup final will be staged on December 16.
The FFA chief executive David Gallop, who joined Reid and former Socceroo Brett Emerton on stage in front of other state football CEOs and the media, said the sport had "dreamed" for years about an FA Cup-style competition.
"The FFA Cup has taken on almost mythical status among football fans who have longed for a national knock-out comp to fill a void in the football calendar," he said.
"It really is a story for giant killers ... a chance for the non-professional clubs, just like Rockdale, to take on and beat the top A-League clubs."
Gallop confirmed new sponsors would be announced alongside FoxSports, who will televise 10 games live, with smaller clubs getting the chance to earn good gate-revenue through hosting bigger clubs.
Reid said that even the FFA Cup live draw would garnish high interest among players and supporters alike — just like in England with the FA Cup draw.
"I can tell you if Rockdale was drawn to play Sydney FC here at Rockdale, you can bet all the Macedonians [Rockdale supporters] will come out in force," he said.
