Australia's largest nationwide, knockout football tournament is set to launch tonight

Twelve NT clubs are in the running to be the Territory's sole representative in the Australia Cup main draw.

The Australia Cup, formerly the FFA Cup, is back again this year in a football competition that gives clubs from all over the country the opportunity to play against the biggest and best teams.

The competition will launch in Darwin on Monday evening, with the Northern Territory being allocated one spot in the main draw of 32.

Last year’s competition saw 765 teams across Australia start out in the qualifying stages, before being narrowed down to 32 teams.

Twelve Territory teams will be fighting it out to be NT's sole representative in the main draw this season.

Casuarina made the final 32 of last year's FFA Cup.

Last year saw Casuarina Football Club represent the Territory in the main draw, going down in a 6-0 loss to Queensland's Lions FC in the first round.

This came after finishing third in the Football NT Men’s Premier League, and defeating first-placed Hellenic AC 2-1 in the 2021 NT FFA Cup Final.

Last season’s winner of the Australia Cup was Melbourne Victory, defeating Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in February.

The draw is yet to be released.

Alongside the Australia Cup will also be a Women’s Cup challenge featuring nine teams, with six from in and around Darwin and three from Alice Springs.

The number of women’s teams that will take the field at Darwin Football Stadium on Australia Day has grown from two in its inaugural year to 12 in 2022, while the men’s tally of teams has also jumped healthily from six to 16 for the seven-a-side competition.

It equates to more than 200 players from 30 different countries chasing the leather, including Greece, Nepal, Korea, Sudan to Lebanon, on January 26.

Cup organiser Billy Tarrillo said the eighth annual edition was the perfect vehicle for new NT arrivals, who could be battling social isolation, to build new connections through football and cultural experiences like food, art and music.

“Football is a universal language,” Tarrillo said, who arrived in the Territory from native Peru in 2001.

Refugee World Cup competitor Hope Espoir warms up before the event begins on Australia Day. Picture: Ben Cameron

“It is a way to connect with people. That’s what the legacy of the Refugee World Cup will be.

“Different communities have many similarities, but one thing that they all love is sport.

“It’s an event that has it all.”

He said Australia Day was the perfect date to hold the cup, too.

“(It) is the day when I became an Australian citizen, it’s a good way to reflect on everybody’s journey and their connection to Australia,” he said.

Tarrillo said the cup reflected the city’s changing multicultural landscape, with a “high influx” of Colombian migrants in recent years.

Now, the cup will have a Colombian men’s team for the first time.

Mychael Raymond McGrath shows his skills. Picture: Ben Cameron

Fellow organiser Zainab Mohamud, whose parents came to Australia from Somalia in the 1980s, said football broke down cultural and linguistic barriers.

“It means we’ll be able to speak one language and that’s with the feet,” Mohamud said, who arrived in Darwin when the cup was just starting out.

“It keeps getting bigger and bigger.

“It’s not just about the sport anymore. (It’s) learning new things about different cultures.

“I wanted to tap into my roots (by getting involved).”

Cup co-ordinator Yolanda Kanyai, who arrived from Zimbabwe six years ago to pursue her studies, said it was the perfect way to expose herself to different cultures.

Football NT chief executive Bruce Stalder said the cup would deliver not only football, but cultural experiences through music, food and art.

“It’s a really important event… it’s a real cultural experience,” Stalder said.

Originally published as Australia's largest nationwide, knockout football tournament is set to launch tonight