AAMI Park in Melbourne will host the FFA Cup 2021 Final next Saturday night after the Melbourne Victory defeated Wellington Phoenix 4-1 at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong this evening.
Second half goals from Joshua Brillante, Nicholas D’Agostino (2), and Ben Folami helped lift the Victory to their second FFA Cup Final, after ‘Nix attacker Gary Hooper had given the Phoenix the lead late in the first half.
The Victory will take on Central Coast Mariners FC – who booked their ticket to their first ever FFA Cup Final with a win over Sydney FC eleven days ago – in the Final at AAMI Park.
The victor of next week’s Final will not only be crowd FFA Cup 2021 winners, but secure Australia’s third and final slot in the AFC Champions League 2022.
Both Melbourne Victory FC and Central Coast Mariners FC meet the Asian Football Confederation’s club licensing requirements, meaning the team that wins the match will advance to the AFC Champions League play-off round in March.
With clubs from Myanmar withdrawing from this year’s AFC Champions League, either Victory or Central Coast will by-pass the preliminary round and go directly to a play-off to enter Group J of Asia’s premier club competition. Victory or Mariners will play against Japanese heavyweights Vissel Kobe in the play-off.
Next Saturday’s Final will kick off at 8pm AEDT and will be broadcast exclusively live and free-to-air across the nation on 10, and simulcast on 10 Play. 10’s coverage of the FFA Cup 2021 Final will include a pre-game show, live from 7.30pm AEDT.
During the pre-game show the new name of Australia’s national knockout football competition, which enables clubs at all levels of Australia’s football ecosystem to compete against one another, will be revealed. This new name will signify a new era for a competition that routinely attracts over 700 participating clubs from every State and Territory across Australia.
The FFA Cup 2021 kicked off with 742 clubs, but now just two clubs remain in with the chance to be crowned FFA Cup 2021 winners – Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners FC.
FFA Cup 2021 Final: Melbourne Victory FC vs. Central Coast Mariners FC
Date: Saturday, 5 February 2022
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-off: 8pm AEDT
Broadcast: Live and free in Australia on Network 10 and simulcast on 10 Play from 7.30pm
Tickets: Details available soon via www.theffacup.com.au
