For Monaro’s Stephen Domenici, football is all he has “ever known”.

Having just played his 150th NPL match last weekend, the star striker is gearing up for Canberra’s FFA Cup qualifying final against Tigers FC tomorrow.

The winner will be promoted to the round of 32 for the national stage of the competition.

Despite his lengthy tenure in the NPL, the 29-year-old has no plans to call it quits anytime soon.

“I started playing when I was six. I spent more time playing football than being in school. It’s just the passion and love for the game that keeps me going and I don’t really want to stop. I’ll let my body tell me when I can stop. In my mind I want to keep playing forever,” he said.

Domenici is one of the ACT NPL’s most experienced players, representing Australia at the U17 and U20 level. However, since then he has struggled to make it as a professional.

He says Canberra footballers like him face a challenge to pursue their football dreams.

“I think there's a big challenge for all players coming out of Canberra that they don’t really have a set pathway to propel them to the next stage. That was an issue for me growing up in Canberra,” he said.

“There's so many talented players that come out of Canberra. I think that will be one of the greatest challenges not just for me but all the kids looking to make it in football.

“It’s just tough not having an A-League team like the other states, not having the AIS any more, not having those pathways to help them get out of Canberra. That’s what you want to do if you want to make football a career.”

Monaro’s rocky start to the season saw them sit at the bottom of the table until last weekend. However, Domenici says that his side’s FFA Cup success is down to team cooperation.

“I think it’s the tight knit group of boys we have. Losing a few games and being last at the start of the season would throw everyone into disarray,” he said.

“The fact we have stuck together, no-ones left, no-ones chucked a tantrum. We’ve tried to rectify what's gone wrong and it's shown in the fact that we’ve made the final of the FFA Cup.

“Monaro has never been on that stage before in an FFA Cup. It’s that experience for the younger boys who haven't been there, it's just guiding them along their journey.

“It’s always good for me to make another round of 32 but I want to do it for the club and for the boys who haven't been there.

“All the boys are all excited to do it and to show everyone that we can do it as well. We’re not looking at it like there's any challenges, we’ve got nothing to lose so we’re just going to go out there and give it one-hundred percent.”

Kickoff for the qualifying final will be tomorrow at 5pm at Deakin Stadium.