The Westfield FFA Cup will become a truly national competition next year with a club from the Northern Territory to participate in the Preliminary Rounds and be granted a direct slot into the Round of 32.

The presence of a team from Football Federation Northern Territory comes as Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced the number of slots that each of the Member Federations will receive in the Round of 32 for the Westfield FFA Cup 2015.

Planning is well underway for next year’s edition of the competition that has captured the imagination of Australia’s sporting public. The decision in regards to the number of slot allocations each Member Federation received was made after a review of the inaugural year and feedback received from the Westfield FFA Cup Advisory Committee which is comprised of representatives from the Member Federations, Hyundai A-League clubs, the Professional Footballers Association and FFA.

The Westfield FFA Cup Advisory Committee recommended that each Member Federation should be entitled to at least one full slot, with the additional slot allocations based on 2014 registered participation numbers and the number of each Member Federation’s entrants in the Preliminary Rounds.

Another change for the Westfield FFA Cup 2015 will include an automatic Round of 32 slot designated to the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues Champions, which sees South Australian club MetroStars SC become the first Member Federation club confirmed in the Round of 32 for next year.

Football NSW will continue to have the highest number of slots with five (5), while Football Queensland and Football Federation Victoria will each have four (4) slots, Northern NSW Football and Football West two (2) slots, and Capital Football, Football Federation Northern Territory, Football Federation South Australia and Football Federation Tasmania one (1) slot apiece.

Head of Hyundai A-League, Damien de Bohun, said the inclusion of the Northern Territory puts the Westfield FFA Cup in a unique position that sets it apart from any other top-level sporting competition in this country.

“The popularity, interest and unheralded amount of media coverage during the inaugural edition has already established the Westfield FFA Cup as part of the Australian sporting landscape,” de Bohun said.

“Now having an entrant from Football Federation Northern Territory from next year will make the Westfield FFA Cup a truly national competition.

“In allocating the slots for next year, it’s important to note that the Westfield FFA Cup is still in its infancy, and after reviewing all of the feedback, this model is the most appropriate for the Westfield FFA Cup in 2015.

“We will continue to review the success of this model as the Westfield FFA Cup further develops and will not rule out the possibility of making changes in the future to improve the competition.”

The 21 Member Federations slots, coupled with the slot allocated to the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues Champions, plus the slots for the ten Hyundai A-League clubs, make up the entrants in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32.

The match schedule for the Westfield FFA Cup 2015 will be announced in the coming months.