| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Region | Victoria |
| Number of teams | 119 (24 Seeded, 11 Un-Seeded) |
| Current champions | Northcote City SC |
| Most successful club | Northcote City SC (1 title) |
| Website | FFV |
| 2011 Mirabella Cup | |
The Mirabella Cup is a football (soccer) knockout-cup competition held between men's clubs in Victoria, Australia, organised by the Football Federation Victoria. It was to be unique in Australian Football in that the competition was to integrate clubs from the national top level league, the A-League, with the state system below. However, the Football Federation Australia later withdrew their permission for Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart to take part in the competition while the first rounds of the inaugural competition were already ongoing, citing confusion of fans in marketing and as yet unannounced national knockout cup competition.[1]
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The Mirabella Cup is a knockout competition, open to all Football Federation Victoria (FFV) men's clubs and, initially, to the two Victorian Hyundai A-League clubs, Melbourne Heart FC and Melbourne Victory FC.[2]
The stage one of the cup is a knockout stage for Victoria's amateur clubs, and takes place within the FFV’s Zone structure (8 metropolitan and 4 regional Zones). Victoria's semi-professionals leagues, the Alanic Victorian Premier League and State League One clubs, join the competition in the second stage. Heart and Victory were initially planned to enter in the quarter final stage before the FFA's reversal of permission for the A-League club's participation.[1]
Matches are drawn randomly within the Zone structure.
Home teams are responsible for paying the referee's fees and for arranging the event day requirements when fixtured at their ground. Teams reaching the semi finals share in a $50,000 prize pool.
The 2011 competition began on 19 March and finished prior to the start of the A-League season.[3]
The highest finishing two regional teams play off for the Regional Challenge Cup, played as a curtain-raiser to the final.
There is a sliding fee for teams to enter the competition.
| Team | Entry fee |
|---|---|
| Clubs from State League 2 and down | $200 |
| State League 1 and Alanic VPL teams | $500 |
| Hyundai A-League clubs | $2,000 |
Only one team may be entered from each club. Registration for the 2011 competition closes on the 4th of March.
The previous club knockout cup in Victoria, the Dockerty Cup, ran from as early as 1909, when it was first won by Carlton United. It was in recess from 1996, except for the year 2004. Victorian clubs from all divisions were eligible to participate, however, unlike the Mirabella Cup, clubs from the then national top league, the NSL, were excluded between 1977 and 1984.
The competition was announced on the 14th of February 2011 by FFV President Tony Dunkerley at the PFA's Alex Tobin Medal ceremony, and was held for the first time in 2011.
The competition's naming rights were given to its sponsor, Mirabella International, which signed up for sponsorship rights for 10 years.[4] Sales and Marketing Manager of Mirabella, Joe Mirabella, was then also a member of the Melbourne Heart board.[5] Mirabella was previously an investor for Melbourne Victory.[6]
In May 2011, with the first rounds of the inaugural competition already underway, the FFA reversed its decision to allow Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart to take part, citing confusion of fans in marketing an as yet unannounced national knockout cup competition, which the FFA themselves described in a press conference announcing their reversal as still being in a stage of consideration, and not yet having a viable plan.[1]
The first season was won by Northcote City on the 10th of September 2011.
| 23 April | Green Gully Cavaliers (VPL) | 18 - 0 | Mildura United SC (R) | Green Gully Reserve | ||
| 15:30 AEDT | ||||||
| 26 April | South Melbourne (VPL) | 14 - 0 | Yarraville Glory (S3) | John Cain Memorial Reserve | ||
| 15:00 AEDT | ||||||
| 26 April | Strathdale SC (R) | 0 - 11 | Sunshine George Cross (S1) | Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve | ||
| 14:00 AEDT | ||||||
| 5 April | Geelong (S2) | 9 - 1 | Forest Rangers (R) | Stead Park Reserve | ||
| 19:30 AEDT | ||||||
| 27 March | Cobram Victory | 0 - 8 | Tatura | Barooga Recreation Reserve | ||
| 15:00 AEDT | ||||||
| 4 May | Falcons 2000 (R) | 0 - 8 | Springvale White Eagles (VPL) | Latrobe City Sports Club | ||
| 20:00 AEDT | ||||||
| Round | Clubs remaining |
Clubs involved |
Winners from previous round |
New entries this round |
Leagues/Teams entering at this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone Playoffs | 130 | 104 | n/a | 104 | Victorian State League Division 2 Victorian State League Division 3 Victorian Provisional Leagues Victorian Metropolitan Leagues Regional Leagues |
| Zone Semi Finals | 50 | 48 | 24 | 24 | Victorian Premier League Victorian State League Division 1 |
| Zone Finals | 26 | 24 | 24 | none | none |
| Super 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | none | none |
| Quarter-Finals | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2 | Melbourne Heart Melbourne Victory |
| Semi-Finals | 4 | 4 | 4 | none | none |
| Final | 2 | 2 | 2 | none | none |