Australian Match Officials get set for FIFA Club World Cup Final as Australia Cup kicks off

Football Australia today congratulated Australian Match Officials Chris Beath, Anton Shchetinin, and Ashley Beecham for their respective appointments to Saturday’s (local time) FIFA Club World Cup™ Final in the United Arab Emirates.

Referee Beath will whistle the Final between Chelsea FC from England and Brazilian giants Palmeiras at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, with the assistance of Shchetinin and Beecham.

The Australian trio will be joined by Moroccan Match Official Mustapha Ghorbal (Fourth Official) as FIFA’s Club World Cup™ reaches its crescendo in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, less than a week after the FFA Cup 2021 concluded with a thrilling Final between Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners at Melbourne’s AAMI Park, Australia Cup matches will be played in Victoria and Queensland this evening.

In Victoria, Waverley Wanderers FC and Boronia SC will share the honour of kicking off the first ever fixture in the Australia Cup when they clash in Round 1 of Football Victoria’s Preliminary Rounds tonight. Kick-off between Waverley and Boronia at Monash University Playing Fields is at 7.45pm AEDT.

Just 15 minutes after the start of the Preliminary Rounds in Victoria, clubs in Queensland will commence their Australia Cup 2022 journeys. Narangba Sporting Complex will play host to the Narangba Eagles up against Pine Hills Football Club from 7pm local time (8pm AEDT).

Over 80 Australia Cup matches will be played across Victoria and Queensland over the next three days, as close to 2,000 footballers participate in the nation’s largest national knockout football competition.

Australia Cup 2022 Preliminary Rounds – Start Dates:

Member Federation

Start Date

Football Queensland

11 February 2022

Football West

26 February 2022

Football Victoria

11 February 2022

Capital Football

26 February 2022

Football Tasmania

12 March 2022

Northern New South Wales Football

19 February 2022

Football New South Wales

12 March 2022

Football Northern Territory

29 March 2022

Football South Australia

18 March 2022


Australia Cup 2022 Additional Information:

  • 22 clubs from Australia’s nine Member Federations will advance to the Australia Cup 2022 Final Rounds following Preliminary Round competitions in each State and Territory.
  • Ten of the 12 Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s clubs will advance to the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup 2022. This will include the top eight (8) sides in the A-League 2021/22 Regular Season, as well as the winners of Round of 32 play-off matches involving the teams ranked 9th to 12th (9 v 12, 10 v 11).
  • On Saturday, 5 February 2022, Football Australia announced that the ‘FFA Cup’ would be played as the ‘Australia Cup’ from the 2022 edition onwards. The change to the Australia Cup name heralds a new era for the competition which routinely attracts over 700 clubs from all divisions of Australian football.
  • Media and fans can keep up to date with the latest Australia Cup updates via www.australiacup.com.au.