Perth Glory has applied to the FFA to grant it the right to stage the FFA Cup final at its own nib stadium on November 7th.

Glory’s semi-final triumph over Melbourne City on Wednesday night qualifies it for its second consecutive grand final. Its case to stage the final rests largely on the fact it played last year’s cup final away to eventual winner Adelaide United. The club is arguing that its fans and members deserve a home grand final after having to travel last season to watch their team play in the Adelaide final.

In a written club statement released before Wednesday’s semi-final win, Perth Glory CEO Peter Filopoulos said: “It would be an indictment on the governing body not to host the final in Perth should Glory qualify for back to back Cup finals. It would be an enormous opportunity for the club to re-engage with its fans and members and help generate wider support for the game. We believe there would be a strong crowd in attendance for a FFA cup final in Perth of at least upward of 16,000, which is more than what Coopers Stadium in Adelaide holds.”

He also points to the excellent attendance and atmosphere generated at nib for the recent Socceroos match against Bangladesh.

However, the FFA’s response so far would appear to favour the staging of the match in Melbourne. An official FFA statement on the matter reads: “The venue for the Westfield FFA Cup Final will be selected with the key objective of allowing as many Australian sports fans as possible to attend the final or watch the match on Fox Sports.”

The statement goes on to say that a decision on the venue will be made once the finalists are known.

Unless Hume City can pull off a shock upset, the most likely scenario points to a Melbourne Victory – Perth Glory final. Given the greater capacity of AAMI Park, and the Eastern Time Zone favouring a greater TV audience, the odds would appear to indicate a Melbourne final.

The disappointing nib crowd of just 4,000 which attended Glory’s semi-final win against Melbourne City, would not have helped Glory’s bid either.