| Number Of Teams: | 218 (in 2023) |
| Qualifier For: | Australia Cup, |
| Broadcasters: | Facebook Live |
| Most Successful Club: | Melbourne Knights South Melbourne (9 titles each) |
| Website: | Football Victoria |
| Current: | 2024 Australia Cup preliminary rounds |
The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the former president of Football Federation Victoria Harry Dockerty.[1]
Since 2014 the Cup is also a qualifying competition for the FFA Cup, now known as the Australia Cup, where the four finalists enter the competition proper at the round of 32. The Dockerty cup winner also qualifies to the next season's FV Community Shield, in a one-off match against the current NPL Victoria champion.
The competition was established in 1909 and held every season with the exception of 3 years during World War I (1916, 1917, 1918). Following the 1996 season, the Dockerty Cup was in recess before returning in 2004 as the "Crazy John's Cup", it would be run for three seasons before re-entering recess following the 2006 season. A Victorian cup competition was reintroduced in 2011 with a new trophy and known as the "Mirabella Cup" due to naming rights sponsorship. That arrangement lasted only one season, with the competition being named the "FFV State Knockout Cup" in 2012 and 2013. However, in both years, the winner was awarded with the Dockerty Cup trophy.[2] [3] From the 2014 season onwards, it is once again known as the Dockerty Cup.
Participation in the Dockerty Cup is mandatory for the senior men's team from every Victorian club within the National Premier Leagues and the State Leagues, and optional for teams from the Regional Leagues. Because the competition serves as the preliminary rounds for the Australia Cup competition, only one team per Club is eligible. This means that the youth sides of Melbourne Victory Youth and Melbourne City Youth and Western United FC Youth are excluded from the competition, as their parent A-League sides separately participate in the competition.
Additionally if a Victorian club wins the NPL Championship – as occurred with Heidelberg United in the 2018 Dockerty Cup – they are excluded from the preliminary rounds as they have also qualified for the FFA Cup at the round of 32. Instead they join the Dockerty Cup competition in a special playoff round match held the week prior to the semi-finals.[4]
The competition acts a classic single-elimination knock-out tournament, with one team progressing from each tie to the next round. Fixtures for each round are determined by a random draw, with teams entering the tournament on a staggered basis, depending on their respective positions in the league hierarchy. The team drawn first hosts the match, with the final being held at a neutral venue. No replays are currently utilised in the Dockerty Cup, with a drawn match going to 30 minutes of extra time and eventually a penalty shoot-out if necessary.
Since 2014, the Dockerty Cup has also served as preliminary competition for the FFA Cup, now known as the Australia Cup, from the first qualifying round to the Seventh Round. In 2022 five teams qualify as Victoria's representatives, at the round of 32.
In 2020, the FFA Cup competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[5]
| Federation | Competition | Total Australia Cup Victorian Entrants | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||
| NPL Champions | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Dockerty Cup | 190 → 4 | 191 → 4 | 202 → 4 | 217 → 4 | 217 → 4 | 214 → 4 | 223 → 0 | 210 → 4 | 211 → 5 | 218 → 5 | ||
| Total Victorian Round of 32 Qualifiers | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | – | 7 | 8 | 7 | ||
Since 2014 the Dockerty Cup winners also qualify for the following season's single-match FV Community Shield, the season opener played against the current NPL Victoria champions.
The prize fund for the 2018 Dockerty Cup is detailed below.[6]
| Round | No. of Clubs receive fund | Prize fund | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play-off Loser | 1 | $2,500 | |
| Semi-finalists | 2 | $2,500 | |
| Runner-up | 1 | $5,000 | |
| Champion | 1 | $10,000 | |
| Total | 5 | $22,500 |
In 2019 it was announced that Football Victoria had signed a three-year broadcast arrangement with YouTube and Facebook that will see the Dockerty Cup's semi-finals and final broadcast live.[7]
Additionally each draw of the Dockerty Cup round's are broadcast live on Football Victoria's Facebook page, while a number of clubs will provide live score updates during each match either via the clubs official website, Facebook, or Twitter.
1 Heidelberg United qualified as the 2017 NPL Champions and entered the Cup via an additional playoff match.
| Competition and Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Dockerty Cup 1909 | Carlton United | |
| Dockerty Cup 1910 | Carlton United | |
| Dockerty Cup 1911 | St Kilda | |
| Dockerty Cup 1912 | Williamstown | |
| Dockerty Cup 1913 | Yarraville (formerly Williamstown) | |
| Dockerty Cup 1914 | Melbourne Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1915 | Melbourne Thistle | |
| 1916 to 1918 | No competition due to World War 1 | |
| Dockerty Cup 1919 | Footscray Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1920 | Albert Park / Northumberland and Durham | |
| Dockerty Cup 1921 | Northumberland and Durham | |
| Dockerty Cup 1922 | Albert Park | |
| Dockerty Cup 1923 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1924 | Navy | |
| Dockerty Cup 1925 | Melbourne Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1926 | Navy | |
| Dockerty Cup 1927 | Footscray Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1928 | Navy | |
| Dockerty Cup 1929 | Footscray Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1930 | Footscray Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1931 | Wonthaggi Magpies | |
| Dockerty Cup 1932 | Footscray Thistle | |
| Dockerty Cup 1933 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1934 | Royal Caledonians | |
| Dockerty Cup 1935 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1936 | Royal Caledonians | |
| Dockerty Cup 1937 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1938 | Nobels | |
| Dockerty Cup 1939 | Imperial Chemical Industries (formerly Nobels) | |
| Dockerty Cup 1940 | Imperial Chemical Industries | |
| Dockerty Cup 1941 | Moreland | |
| Dockerty Cup 1942 | Prahran City | |
| Dockerty Cup 1943 | Brighton | |
| Dockerty Cup 1944 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1945 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1946 | Prahran City | |
| Dockerty Cup 1947 | South Yarra | |
| Dockerty Cup 1948 | Park Rangers | |
| Dockerty Cup 1949 | Park Rangers | |
| Dockerty Cup 1950 | Moreland | |
| Dockerty Cup 1951 | J.U.S.T. | |
| Dockerty Cup 1952 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1953 | Melbourne Hakoah | |
| Dockerty Cup 1954 | ||
| Dockerty Cup 1955 | Melbourne Hakoah | |
| Dockerty Cup 1956 | Melbourne Hakoah | |
| Dockerty Cup 1957 | Moreland | |
| Dockerty Cup 1958 | Ringwood Wilhelmina |
| Competition and Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| Dockerty Cup 1959 | George Cross | |
| Dockerty Cup 1960 | Juventus | |
| Dockerty Cup 1961 | Polonia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1962 | George Cross | |
| Dockerty Cup 1963 | Footscray JUST | |
| Dockerty Cup 1964 | Slavia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1965 | Slavia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1966 | Melbourne Hakoah | |
| Dockerty Cup 1967 | Port Melbourne Slavia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1968 | Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1969 | Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1970 | Juventus | |
| Dockerty Cup 1971 | Juventus | |
| Dockerty Cup 1972 | Juventus | |
| Dockerty Cup 1973 | Hakoah St.Kilda | |
| Dockerty Cup 1974 | South Melbourne Hellas | |
| Dockerty Cup 1975 | South Melbourne Hellas | |
| Dockerty Cup 1976 | Footscray JUST | |
| Dockerty Cup 1977 | Juventus | |
| Dockerty Cup 1978 | George Cross | |
| Dockerty Cup 1979 | Essendon Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1980 | Essendon Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1981 | Green Gully Ajax | |
| Dockerty Cup 1982 | Green Gully | |
| Dockerty Cup 1983 | Melbourne Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1984 | Fawkner | |
| Dockerty Cup 1985 | Melbourne Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1986 | Green Gully | |
| Dockerty Cup 1987 | Brunswick United Juventus | |
| Dockerty Cup 1988 | South Melbourne Hellas | |
| Dockerty Cup 1989 | South Melbourne Hellas | |
| Dockerty Cup 1990 | Melbourne Croatia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1991 | South Melbourne Hellas | |
| Dockerty Cup 1992 | Preston Makedonia | |
| Dockerty Cup 1993 | South Melbourne | |
| Dockerty Cup 1994 | Morwell Falcons | |
| Dockerty Cup 1995 | South Melbourne | |
| Dockerty Cup 1996 | Melbourne Knights | |
| 1997 to 2003 | not played | |
| Crazy John's Cup 2004 | Green Gully | |
| 2005 to 2010 | not played | |
| Northcote City SC | ||
| Dandenong Thunder | ||
| Green Gully |
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Knights | 9 | 7 | 1968, 1969, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1996, 2014 |
| South Melbourne | 9 | 4 | 1974, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2015, 2024 |
| Melbourne Hakoah | 8 | 7 | 1935, 1945, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1973 |
| Brunswick Juventus | 6 | 7 | 1960, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1987 |
| Footscray Thistle | 5 | 2 | 1919, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1932 |
| 5 | 3 | 1933, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1952 | |
| Green Gully Cavaliers | 5 | 1 | 1981, 1982, 1986, 2004, 2013 |