2006 A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup
The 2006 A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup was a series in the Australian A-League football 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.
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, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Launceston, Canberra, Wollongong, Port Macquarie, Orange and Tamworth.
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Qualification | |||||||||
| 1 | Central Coast Mariners | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Adelaide United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory FC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 6 | - |
| 4 | Perth Glory | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | - |
Group B
| Team | Qualification | |||||||||
| 1 | Sydney FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 12 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 3 | New Zealand Knights | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | - |
| 4 | Queensland Roar | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | - |
Top goalscorers
3 goals:2 goals:
1 goal: