The Association Cup, formally known as the Pre-Season Cup, originated in 1975. The Cup was first played in 1975 to compensate for the loss of the potential excitement of the final’s series, the then Central Coast Soccer Association introduced a new Men’s knockout competition called the Association Cup. Based on a similar format to the English FA Cup it was played progressively throughout the season and open to teams in both the First and Second Divisions as well as some reserve grade and U17 teams. The Cup remains one of Central Coast Football’s major competitions to this day although it has changed its format over the years as midweek games with a grand final early in the season were prevalent to now being played pre-season in March on weekends. In 2003 a Women’s competition was offered with great popularity, albeit only for our First-Grade division. While in 2012 a Men’s reserve grade Cup was introduced using the same format. The inaugural Cup was named The Norman Ross Association Cup after the local discount store.
Throughout the years the Cup has had some very notable sponsors:
| 1975-1982: Norman Ross Cup |
| 1983: Angel Pies Cup |
| 1984-1985: Association Cup |
| 1986-1988: ANZ Bank Cup |
| 1989-1991: Toohey Cup |
| 1992-1993: Association Cup |
| 1994: Caltex Paruna F3 Cup |
| 1995-2001: Association Cup |
| 2002-2003: Pepsi Cup |
| 2004-2007: Association Cup |
| 2008-2009: Central Coast Cup |
| 2010: Big Foot Cup |
| 2011: Hill & Company Cup |
| 2012-2013: CountryNet Cup |
| 2014-2020: Pre-Season Cup |
| 2021: Mate Association Cup |
| 2022: Association Cup |
| 2023: Premier Autocare Association Cup |
Here is a list of the Men’s and Women’s Cup Winners over the years.
Click to view the Cup Gallery that contain photos dating all the way back to 1797!
Central Coast Football would like to thank Premier Autocare for coming on board as naming rights partners for the 2023 Association Cup.
