2023 Australia Cup

2023 Australia Cup

Tournament details
Country	Australia New Zealand
Dates	9 February – 7 October 2023
Teams	778 (qualifying competition) 32 (main competition)
Final positions
Champions	Sydney FC (2nd title)
Runner-up	Brisbane Roar
AFC Champions League Two	Sydney FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played	31
Goals scored	119 (3.84 per match)
Attendance	70,454 (2,273 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Lachlan Brook (5 goals)
← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 Australia Cup was the tenth season of the Australia Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. Thirty-two teams contested the competition proper, with the winner qualifying for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two.

Macarthur FC were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Campbelltown City in the Round of 32.

Sydney FC won its second Australia Cup after defeating Brisbane Roar in the final. This also resulted in qualification to the group stage of the AFC's 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two competition.

Round	Draw date	Match dates	Number of fixtures	Teams	New entries this round
Preliminary rounds	Various	9 February–18 July	746	778 → 32	770
Round of 32	28 June	4–14 August	16	32 → 16	8
Round of 16	14 August	26–30 August	8	16 → 8	None
Quarter-finals	30 August	14–17 September	4	8 → 4	None
Semi-finals	17 September	24 September	2	4 → 2	None
Final	—	7 October	1	2 → 1	None

A total of 32 teams participated in the 2023 Australia Cup competition proper.

A-League Men clubs represent the highest level in the Australian league system, whereas Member Federation clubs come from level 2 and below.

A-League Men clubs
Adelaide United	Brisbane Roar	Central Coast Mariners	Macarthur FC
Melbourne City	Newcastle Jets	Sydney FC	Wellington Phoenix
Western Sydney Wanderers	Western United
Member federation clubs
Canberra Croatia (2)	APIA Leichhardt (2)	Inter Lions (3)	Mt Druitt Town Rangers (2)
Sydney United 58 (2)	Edgeworth FC (2)	Broadmeadow Magic (2)	Hellenic Athletic (2)
Gold Coast Knights (2)	Lions FC (2)	Moreton Bay United (2)	Peninsula Power (2)
Campbelltown City (2)	North Eastern MetroStars (2)	Devonport City Strikers (2)	Goulburn Valley Suns (4)
Heidelberg United (2)	Melbourne Knights (2)	Northcote City (3)	Oakleigh Cannons (2)
Floreat Athena (2)	Inglewood United (2)

Member federation teams competed in various state-based preliminary rounds to win one of 22 places in the competition proper (at the Round of 32). All Australian clubs were eligible to enter the qualifying process through their respective member federation; however, only one team per club was permitted entry into the competition. The preliminary rounds operate within a consistent national structure whereby club entry into the competition is staggered in each state/territory, determined by what level the club sits at in the Australian soccer league system. This ultimately leads to round 7 with the winning clubs from that round entering directly into the round of 32. Slot allocations were the same as the previous year.

The top eight placed A-League Men clubs from the 2022–23 A-League Men season gained automatic qualification to the Round of 32. The remaining four teams entered a play-off series to determine the remaining two positions.

Federation	Associated competition	Round of 32 qualifiers
Football Australia	A-League Men	10
Capital Football (ACT)	Federation Cup (ACT)	1
Football NSW	Waratah Cup	4
Northern NSW Football	NNSWF State Cup	2
Football Northern Territory	NT FFA Cup Final	1
Football Queensland	—	4
Football South Australia	Federation Cup (SA)	2
Football Tasmania	Milan Lakoseljac Cup	1
Football Victoria	Dockerty Cup	5
Football West (WA)	State Cup	2

	Round of 32				Round of 16				Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	North Eastern MetroStars	5
	Inglewood United	0			North Eastern MetroStars	1
	Hellenic Athletic	0			Inter Lions	0
	Inter Lions	6							North Eastern MetroStars	1
	Oakleigh Cannons	2							Melbourne City	2
	Melbourne City	3			Melbourne City	3
	Peninsula Power	1			Wellington Phoenix	0
	Wellington Phoenix (a.e.t.)	2											Melbourne City	1
	Goulburn Valley Suns	1											Sydney FC	2
	APIA Leichhardt	4			APIA Leichhardt	0
	Sydney FC (p)	3 (10)			Sydney FC	2
	Central Coast Mariners	3 (9)							Sydney FC	3
	Gold Coast Knights	1							Western United	0
	Devonport City Strikers	0			Gold Coast Knights	0
	Edgeworth FC	0			Western United	2
	Western United	4															Sydney FC	3
	Melbourne Knights	4															Brisbane Roar	1
	Lions FC	1			Melbourne Knights	2
	Campbelltown City	2			Campbelltown City	0
	Macarthur FC	1							Melbourne Knights	3
	Mt Druitt Town Rangers	3							Heidelberg United	2
	Canberra Croatia	1			Mt Druitt Town Rangers	0
	Moreton Bay United	0			Heidelberg United	3
	Heidelberg United	3											Melbourne Knights	0
	Broadmeadow Magic	2											Brisbane Roar	1
	Sydney United 58	4			Sydney United 58	0
	Newcastle Jets	2			Brisbane Roar	5
	Brisbane Roar (a.e.t.)	3							Brisbane Roar	4
	Floreat Athena	1							Western Sydney Wanderers	2
	Western Sydney Wanderers	6			Western Sydney Wanderers	5
	Northcote City	0			Adelaide United	1
	Adelaide United	2

The round of 32 draw took place on 28 June 2023.^[1] The lowest ranked side that qualified for this round was Goulburn Valley Suns. They were the only level 4 team left in the competition.

The round of 16 draw took place on 14 August 2023.^[2] The lowest ranked side that qualified for this round was Inter Lions. They were the only level 3 team left in the competition.

The quarter-finals draw took place on 30 August 2023.^[3] The lowest ranked sides that qualified for this round were Heidelberg United, Melbourne Knights and North Eastern MetroStars. They were the only level 2 teams left in the competition.

The semi-final draw took place on 17 September 2023.^[4] The lowest ranked side that qualified for this round was Melbourne Knights. They were the only level 2 team left in the competition.

The venue was originally set for Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, but was changed to Sydney to the Allianz Stadium due to irrigation work.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Lachlan Brook	Western Sydney Wanderers	5
2	Tolgay Arslan	Melbourne City	4
	Thomas Waddingham	Brisbane Roar
	Patrick Wood	Sydney FC
5	Gian Albano	Melbourne Knights	3
	Marcus Antonsson	Western Sydney Wanderers
	Brandon Borrello	Western Sydney Wanderers
	Mitchell Hore	Melbourne Knights
	Jamie Maclaren	Melbourne City
	Kaine Sheppard	Heidelberg United

Note: Goals scored in preliminary rounds not included.