FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup , short FAI Cup (after the official sponsors also " FAI Ford Cup "), is since 1922 the largest cup competition in Irish football. It is organized annually by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and is the second most important title in national club football after the Irish Championship.
In addition to the clubs from the Republic of Ireland accepts the Derry City , a team from the the United Kingdom belonging to Northern Ireland on game operation part. The winner of the FAI Cup will be determined according to the knockout system .
The current title holder (2019) is the record winner Shamrock Rovers with 25 titles.
Game operation
As in Scandinavia, the FAI Cup has been based on the calendar year since 2002. This led to two title winners in the transition year 2002 - Dundalk won the FAI Cup at the end of April , Derry City won the trophy in November.
In addition to the clubs from the League of Ireland , several clubs from the Leinster Senior League , Munster Senior League and Ulster Senior League also play . All clubs from the League of Ireland only intervene in the competition from the second round. The matches are drawn by lots and played in the knockout system . The final will be held in late November or early December.
The FAI Cup winner qualifies for participation in the UEFA Europa League ; if the cup winner is also a champion, the losing finalist will compete in the UEFA Europa League. In addition, the winning team or, if this is qualified via the league, the loser of the final takes part in the All-Ireland Setanta Sports Cup .
history
The FAI Cup was named as the Free State Cup from 1922 to 1937 after the Irish Free State was founded.
After two unsuccessful finals in the 1970s, Drogheda United was back in the final in 2005 - this time against Cork City . Gavin Whelan's goals (his father Paul Whelan led Bohemians to FAI Cup victory in 1992 and grandfather Sir Ronnie Whelan won twice with St Patrick's Athletic ) and Declan O'Brien helped Drogheda United gain their first FAI Cup title.
Shelbourne , Bohemians FC and Derry City are the only clubs to have won both the Irish Cup and the FAI Cup. Shelbourne and Bohemians won the Irish Cup before the partition of Ireland, while Derry City remained in the Northern Irish League until 1972 and was accepted into the League of Ireland in 1985 .
Athlone Town AFC (1924), Dundalk FC (1958), Shamrock Rovers (1968) and Sligo Rovers (2010) are the only clubs to have won the FAI Cup - and every game - without conceding a goal.
Venues
Since the FAI Cup was founded, the finals have always been played in Dublin . Most of the finals took place in Dalymount Park (1922 to 1989 & 1996 to 1998, and 2000). Due to the dilapidated condition of Dalymount Park at the time, the venues have changed since the 1990s. From 1990 to 1996, and from 2003 to 2006, the finals were played in Lansdowne Road . The finals were played in Tolka Park from 1999 to 2002. The 2007 and 2008 finals were played at the RDS Arena and in 2009 at Tallaght Stadium . The final has been held at the Aviva Stadium since 2010 .
The finals at a glance
* Match operations were geared towards the calendar year, which is why there were two cup competitions and finals in April and November in 2002.
Ranking list of winners and finalists
| club | title | Year (s) | FT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shamrock Rovers | 25th | 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2019 | 34 |
| Dundalk FC | 11 | 1942, 1949, 1952, 1958, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1988, 2002, 2015, 2018 | 19th |
| Shelbourne FC | 7th | 1939, 1960, 1963, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000 | 18th |
| Bohemians Dublin | 7th | 1928, 1935, 1970, 1976, 1992, 2001, 2008 | 14th |
| Sligo Rovers | 5 | 1983, 1994, 2010, 2011, 2013 | 11 |
| Drumcondra FC | 5 | 1927, 1943, 1946, 1954, 1957 | 9 |
| Derry City | 5 | 1989, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2012 | 9 |
| Cork Athletic | 4th | 1941, 1947, 1951, 1953 | 9 |
| Cork City | 4th | 1998, 2007, 2016, 2017 | 8th |
| St Patrick's Athletic | 3 | 1959, 1961, 2014 | 11 |
| Waterford FC / United | 2 | 1937, 1980 | 9 |
| Limerick FC | 2 | 1971, 1982 | 5 |
| Cork Hibernians | 2 | 1972, 1973 | 4th |
| Longford Town | 2 | 2003, 2004 | 4th |
| St. James's Gate FC | 2 | 1922, 1938 | 4th |
| Bray Wanderers | 2 | 1990, 1999 | 2 |
| Drogheda United | 1 | 2005 | 4th |
| Cork FC | 1 | 1934 | 2 |
| Finn Harps | 1 | 1974 | 2 |
| Fordsons FC | 1 | 1926 | 2 |
| Galway United | 1 | 1991 | 2 |
| Alton United | 1 | 1923 | 1 |
| Athlone Town | 1 | 1924 | 1 |
| Home Farm FC | 1 | 1975 | 1 |
| Sporting Fingal | 1 | 2009 | 1 |
| Transport FC | 1 | 1950 | 1 |
| UC Dublin | 1 | 1984 | 1 |
| Brideville Dublin | 2 | ||
| Cork Celtic | 2 | ||
| Dolphin FC | 2 | ||
| Evergreen United | 1 | ||
| St. Francis FC | 1 |
Web links
- rsssf.com: List of the playoffs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Since 1985 Derry City from Northern Ireland plays in the Irish league. Before that, Derry was Northern Irish Cup winner 3 times (1949, 1954, 1964).
- ↑ The cup victories in 1941 and 1947 were achieved under the name Cork United.
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