League of Ireland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
League of Ireland
League of Ireland logoTemplate: Infobox football competition / maintenance / logo format
Full name FAI National League of Ireland
Association Football Association of Ireland
First edition 1921
hierarchy 1 & 2 league
Teams 10 (Premier Division, I)
10 (First Division, II)
master Dundalk FC
Record champions Shamrock Rovers (17)
Record scorer Brendan Bradley (235)
Current season 2020

League of Ireland ( Irish Sraith na hÉireann ) is the name of the two top football leagues in the Republic of Ireland . The higher division is called League of Ireland Premier Division (short: Premier Division ), the lower League of Ireland First Division (short: First Division ). In addition to 19 clubs from the Republic of Ireland takes Derry City , a team from the the United Kingdom belonging to Northern Ireland on game operation part. In addition to the championship operation, the League of Ireland has also been hosting a league cup since 1973 , for which all clubs in the two divisions are eligible. The winner of the league cup as well as the champions and runners-up qualified with the winner of the Irish Cup for the Setanta Sports Cup , the now defunct all-Irish football cup competition .

Game operation

Since mid-2003, like in Scandinavia and contrary to the practice of the larger European associations, the season has been based on the calendar year, which means that the winners of the previous year always compete in European competitions. The champion is determined in pure league mode between the currently twelve teams in the Premier Division , while the eight teams in the First Division simultaneously play for promotion to the highest class. The last one in the upper division is relegated directly, the first in the lower division is promoted directly. Between the second in the First Division and the penultimate in the Premier Division there will be a relegation game to determine whether or not they will be promoted to the Premier Division . There is no real relegation from the First Division , but the worst team of the season has to apply for membership again, which is sometimes rejected in favor of new clubs. In the Premier Division , each team plays three times against each other, in the First Division four times.

history

Foundation of the league

former logo

The League of Ireland was founded in 1921 after Southern Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom. In the first season of 1921/22 eight clubs took part in the league operation in one division. The first champion was St. James's Gate FC ; the only founding team that has remained in the league without interruption since then are the Bohemians from Dublin . However, the Shamrock Rovers came into the league in the second season, they won the championship in the first year.

Boom in the 1960s

Until the 1960s, the number of participating teams fluctuated between eight and twelve. In the heyday of the league in the 1960s and 1970s, when up to 40,000 spectators wanted to see the games of the major Dublin clubs live, the number of clubs continued to rise. In 1969 there were 14, in 1977 16 and finally in 1985 the current number of 22 teams. The associated organizational and other burdens led to the division of the previously uniform league into two divisions, as they still exist today.

Special points system 1981

In the 1981/82 season , the League of Ireland tried to reward offensive play by away teams with a special point system, and the 3-point rule was introduced for one year with the peculiarity that the away teams, as long as they reached at least one draw, one Got extra point. In the overview, results were rated as follows: defeat no points; Draw home one point; Tie Away Two Points; Home win three points and finally an away win four points.

Financial difficulties and takeover by the FAI

In 2003, the Bohemians and Shelbourne were champions within a few months, as the league operation was switched from the usual operation from autumn to spring to a parallel run with the calendar year. In 2005, the Premier Division was enlarged in favor of the First Division from ten to twelve teams, as the First Division was reduced by two teams at the same time, the number of 22 clubs remained constant.

Due to the ongoing financial difficulties of the league, so Dublin City withdrew from operations during the 2006 season, at the turn of the year the previously independent League of Ireland merged with the Irish football association FAI. All clubs had to “apply” and a committee then decided by awarding points who would be placed in the Premier Division or the First Division . The results of the last five years and other criteria such as infrastructure, leadership, finances, youth work, marketing, etc. were decisive for this.

With the takeover by the FAI, player contracts are now being introduced for the first time, which are intended to simplify the conditions for the players and the overview for the clubs. Many clubs regularly miscalculate their players' salaries and spend more than they actually earn. The players' salaries were always negotiated on a net basis, which then had a devastating effect on the bookkeeping when taxes were then to be paid. This should now be prevented with the new uniform player contract.

For Dublin City , which had already withdrawn from playing in the summer of 2006, and for Limerick FC , which was denied a license for the 2007 season for both divisions of the League of Ireland, the league took on two newly formed teams: the Wexford Youths and Limerick 37 , named after the year in which professional football was first played in Limerick . In addition, the reigning champions and cup winners Shelbourne FC was denied the license for the Premier Division , so that the Shels can not defend their title. The Shels were only able to meet the license conditions for the First Division through negotiations a few days before the start of the season on March 9, 2007 , so that instead of being excluded from the league, only forced relegation was ordered.

Participating teams in the 2020 season

In the 2020 season the following teams will play in both leagues:

Premier Division
10 clubs
Bohemians Dublin
Cork City
Derry City
Dundalk FC
Finn Harps
Shamrock Rovers
Shelbourne FC
Sligo Rovers
St Patrick's Athletic
Waterford FC
First Division
10 clubs
Athlone Town
Bray Wanderers
Cabinteely FC
Cobh Ramblers
Drogheda United
Galway United
Longford Town
Shamrock Rovers B.
University College Dublin AFC
Wexford Youths

Champion of the Premier Division

Record champions

rank society Championships
1 Shamrock Rovers 17th
2 Dundalk FC 14th
3 Shelbourne FC 13
4th Bohemians Dublin 11
5 St Patrick's Athletic 8th
6th Waterford FC 6th
7th Cork United 5
Drumcondra FC 5
9 Sligo Rovers 3
Cork City 3
11 Athlone Town 2
Cork Athletic 2
Derry City 2
Limerick FC 2
St. James's Gate FC 2
16 Cork Celtic 1
Cork Hibernians 1
Dolphin FC 1
Drogheda United 1

Eternal table

In the all-time table, record champions Shamrock Rovers are just ahead of Bohemians Dublin , which was the only team to take part in all seasons. The calculation is based on the 3-point rule (three points per win, one point per tie). Clubs with a colored background will play in the League of Ireland in the 2020 season .

Pl. society Years Sp. S. U N T + T- Diff. Points Ø pt. title
 1. Shamrock Rovers 97  2479  1210  602  667 4565 3013 +1552 4232 1.71 17th
 2. Bohemians Dublin 99  2528  1092  599  837 4022 3356 +666 3870 1.53 11
 3. Dundalk FC 85  2138  968  502  668 3674 2906 +768 3406 1.59 14th
 4th Shelbourne FC 85  2089  886  509  694 3609 3027 +582 3159 1.51 13
 5. St Patrick's Athletic 69  1972  819  514  639 2886 2576 +310 2956 1.5 8th
 6th Sligo Rovers 67  1822  633  447  742 2607 2951 −344 2346 1.29 3
 7th Waterford FC 64  1601  650  352  599 2772 2634 +138 2302 1.44 6th
 8th. Limerick FC 61  1536  506  341  689 2117 2479 −362 1859 1.21 2
 9. Cork City 34  1114  513  297  304 1550 1096 +454 1823 1.64 3
10. Derry City 32  1059  446  297  316 1430 1050 +380 1635 1.54 2
11. Drogheda United 44  1299  371  358  570 1535 1991 −456 1460 1.12 1
Status: end of season 2019

League cup winners

  • 1973/74 Waterford FC
  • 1974/75 Bohemians Dublin
  • 1975/76 Limerick FC
  • 1976/77 Shamrock Rovers
  • 1977/78 Dundalk FC
  • 1978/79 Bohemians
  • 1979/80 Athlone Town
  • 1980/81 Dundalk FC
  • 1981/82 Athlone Town
  • 1982/83 Athlone Town
  • 1983/84 Drogheda United
  • 1984/85 Waterford United
  • 1985/86 Galway United
  • 1986/87 Dundalk FC
  • 1987/88 Cork City
  • 1988/89 Derry City
  • 1989/90 Dundalk FC
  • 1990/91 Derry City
  • 1991/92 Derry City
  • 1992/93 Limerick FC
  • 1993/94 Derry City
  • 1994/95 Cork City
  • 1995/96 Shelbourne
  • 1996/97 Galway United
  • 1997/98 Sligo Rovers
  • 1998/99 Cork City
  • 1999/00 Derry City
  • 2000/01 St Patrick's Athletic
  • 2001/02 Limerick FC
  • 2003 St. Patricks Athletic
  • 2004 Longford Town
  • 2005 Derry City
  • 2006 Derry City
  • 2007 Derry City
  • 2008 Derry City
  • 2009 Bohemians Dublin
  • 2010 Sligo Rovers
  • 2011 Derry City
  • 2012 Drogheda United
  • 2013 Shamrock Rovers
  • 2014 Dundalk FC
  • 2015 St. Patricks Athletic
  • 2016 St. Patricks Athletic
  • 2017 Dundalk FC
  • 2018 Derry City

UEFA five-year ranking

Placement in the UEFA five-year ranking ( previous year's ranking in brackets ). The abbreviations CL and EL after the country coefficients indicate the number of representatives in the 2019/20 season of the Champions League and the Europa League .

Status: end of the European Cup season 2018/19

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Clas Glenning: IRELAND 1st level all-time table. Retrieved May 8, 2020 .
  2. ↑ UEFA rankings for club competitions. In: UEFA. Retrieved July 14, 2019 .