The 2006 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup was a series in the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n A-League

A-League

The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 competition held in July and August in the lead up to the start of the main season. The opening round was 15 July 2006. The competition featured a group stage, with three regular rounds and a bonus round, followed by a two week finals playoff. The bonus group round matched up teams against opponents from the other group, and also offered the incentive of "bonus points" based on goals scored (1 point for 2 goals, 2 points for 3 goals, 3 points for 4 or more goals).

The Pre-Season Cup was used to enhance the A-League's profiles by playing pre-season games in regional centres including the Gold Coast

Gold Coast, Queensland

Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

, Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast, Queensland

The Sunshine Coast is an urban area in South East Queensland, north of the state capital of Brisbane on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Although it does not have a central business district, by population it ranks as the 10th largest metropolis in Australia and the third largest in...

, Toowoomba

Toowoomba, Queensland

Toowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...

, Launceston

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...

, Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, Wollongong

Wollongong, New South Wales

Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...

, Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie, New South Wales

Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....

, Orange

Orange, New South Wales

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....

 and Tamworth

Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...

.

Group A table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	BP
	8	4	2	2	0	5	2	0
	8	4	2	2	0	2	0	0
	6	4	1	1	2	5	7	2
	2	4	0	2	2	2	6	0

Group B table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	BP
	12	4	3	1	0	7	2	2
	3	4	0	2	2	4	6	1
	3	4	0	3	1	2	3	0
	3	4	0	3	1	2	3	0

Pre-Season Cup finals series

The finals series will be held over two weekends - 11 August to 13 August, and 18 August to 20 August.

Pre-Season Cup attendances

Round	Games	Average	Highest	Lowest	Total
Pre-Season Group Stage	16	4,954	12,006	804	79,252
Pre-Season Finals	7	4,715	10,463	1,104	33,002
Totals	23	4,881	12,006	804	112,254