The A-League Pre-Season Cup is held in July and August, as a precursor to the main Australian A-League season. It is played in mainly regional areas of Australia in order to promote the game outside of the traditional urban centers where the clubs play. In the Pre-Season Cup, eight teams are placed into two groups of four. Each team plays the others in the group once over three rounds. The top two teams from each group after the three rounds will play-off for the final.