Football Federation Australia today released the eagerly anticipated Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season draw.
The Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season will kick off with a trio of blockbusting rounds featuring a Big Blue (Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory) Grand Final rematch in Round 1, a Melbourne Derby in Round 2 followed by a Sydney Derby in Round 3.
Melbourne City FC will host Brisbane Roar FC at AAMI Park in the opening match of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season.
The following day will see an F3 Derby in the early game at Central Coast Stadium followed by the Big Blue at Etihad Stadium. Sunday’s matches start with Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United meeting at Westpac Stadium and the first round will be completed when Perth Glory take on Western Sydney Wanderers FC at Spotless Stadium.
The Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series will begin on the weekend of 20-22 April with the Hyundai A-League 2018 Grand Final scheduled for the weekend of 5-6 May 2018.
Speaking today, FFA Head of Hyundai A-League & Westfield W-League, Greg O’Rourke, was excited about releasing the 13th edition of the competition draw.
“It gives me great pleasure to release the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season Draw under a new logo and brand identity,” said O’Rourke.
“Developing this draw has been a challenging process to accommodate the preferences of the clubs, venue availability and also the AFC Champions League 2018.
“We have added a new feature to this season’s draw with all clubs playing each other twice between rounds 1 to 18. The remaining nine rounds will see each club play each other once in the lead-up to the Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series. This stretch of nine Rounds will be known as “The Chase” with 27 points on offer in the run home to Round 27.
“This will be the first season of the Hyundai A-League under our new broadcast agreement with Fox Sports who have been a broadcast partner of the competition since 2005 and we are once again look forward to partnering with them.
“We are also very excited about working with our new Free-to-Air partner, Network Ten, who will be broadcasting the Harvey Norman Saturday night match and the Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series live.
“All in all, we believe that this draw will set the scene for another thrilling season of the Hyundai A-League,” concluded O’Rourke.
Key features of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season draw
►Opening Round of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season begins on Friday 6 October 2017 with Melbourne City FC hosting Brisbane Roar FC @ AAMI Park, Melbourne
►Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series will begin on the weekend of 20-22 April 2018
►Hyundai A-League 2018 Grand Final will be played on the weekend of 5-6 May 2018
►Grand Final Re-Match (Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC): Round 1 (Saturday, 7 October 2017 @ Etihad Stadium)
►All clubs will play in at least one Harvey Norman Saturday Night fixture (kick-off 7:50pm AEST)
KEY RIVALRIES
►MELBOURNE DERBIES (Melbourne City v Melbouurne Victory)
– Round 2 (Saturday 14 October @ Etihad Stadium)
– Round 12 (Saturday 23 December @ AAMI Park)
– Round 22 (Friday 2 March @ AAMI Park)
►SYDNEY DERBIES (Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers FC)
– Round 3 (Saturday 21 October @ Allianz Stadium)
– Round 10 (Saturday 9 December @ ANZ Stadium)
– Round 21 (Sunday 25 February @ Allianz Stadium)
►F3 DERBIES (Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets)
– Round 1 (Saturday 7 October @ Central Coast Stadium)
– Round 15 (Tuesday 9 January @ McDonald Jones )
– Round 27 (Friday 13 April @ Central Coast Stadium)
►BIG BLUE (Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC)
– Round 1 (Saturday 7 October @ Etihad Stadium)
– Round 18 (Friday 26 January @ AAMI Park)
– Round 27 (Saturday 14 April @ Allianz Stadium)
►ADELAIDE UNITED v MELBOURNE VICTORY
– Round 3 (Friday 20 October @ Adelaide Oval)
– Round 10 (Friday 8 December @ Etihad Stadium)
– Round 21 (Saturday 24 February @ AAMI Park)
►SUMMER OF FOOTBALL
– Summer of Football will see 25 matches in 25 days (i.e. 21 December to 14 January – Rounds 12-16) which includes matches on:
– Boxing Day (Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners @ Coopers Stadium)
– New Year’s Eve (Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix @ Central Coast Stadium)
– New Year’s Day (Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Melbourne City FC @ANZ Stadium)
►THEMED ROUNDS
– Remembrance Round – Round 6
– Play Football Round – Round 19
– Female Football Round – Round 22
– Harmony Round – Round 24
►SPLIT ROUNDS
Rounds 20 & 22 will be “Split Rounds” in order to accommodate AFC Champions League Match Days with fixtures scheduled as follows:
– Round 20 – Week 1 (9-11 February 2018) – Clubs participating in the AFC Champions League 2018
– Round 20 – Week 2 (16-18 February 2018) – No Clubs participating in the AFC Champions League 2018
– Round 22 – Week 1 (2-4 March 2018) – Clubs participating in the AFC Champions League 2018
– Round 22 – Week 2 (9-11 March 2018) – No Clubs participating in the AFC Champions League 2018
KEY POINTS
– The first 18 rounds will see all clubs play each other twice – both home & away. The remaining 9 Rounds, “The Chase”, will see all clubs play each other once with a potential 27 points on offer for the run in to Round 27
– Fox Sports will show all matches of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Season and Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series live.
– Network Ten will broadcast one Saturday night match a week and the Hyundai A-League 2018 Finals Series live.
