| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2011 |
| Country |  Ireland |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | League of Ireland First Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | FAI Cup |
| League cup(s) | A Championship Cup A Championship Shield League of Ireland Cup |
| Last champions | Derry City A |
| Most championships | UCD A (2) |
TheA Championship, also known as theNewstalk A Championship, was anassociation football league featuringLeague of Irelandreserve teams andemerging senior teams. It was a third level league in theRepublic of Ireland football league system. It was formed in2008 and disbanded following the2011 season. Between 2009 and 2011 the league was sponsored byNewstalk. It was effectively absorbed into theLeague of Ireland U19 Division.[1][2][3]
The idea of forming a regionalised A Championship was first proposed in 2006 as part of plan to reorganise theLeague of Ireland as a four tier structure.[4][5] The A Championship eventually kicked off in2008 andUCD A became the inaugural champions.[6][7] Despite not defending their title in2009, UCD subsequently went on to become the A Championship's most successful team. They were champions again in2010[2][8] and then runners-up in2011.[3][9] Two otherreserve teams,Shamrock Rovers A andDerry City A finished as champions in 2009 and 2011 respectively.[10][11][3][9]
When the A Championship was founded in2008, thirteen of the sixteen inaugural members were the reserve teams ofLeague of Ireland clubs. The other three teams wereMervue United,Salthill Devon andTullamore Town.[7]Sporting Fingal were also expected to join the A Championship for the 2008 season. However, whenKilkenny City withdrew from theFirst Division shortly before the season was due to start, Sporting Fingal were drafted in to replace them.[12] The2009 season featured six non-reserve teams. After Mervue United gained promotion to theFirst Division, Salthill Devon and Tullamore Town were joined byCobh Ramblers,Castlebar Celtic,F.C. Carlow andTralee Dynamos. The latter three were all making their debut at senior national level. They were also the first clubs from their respectivecounties ofMayo,Carlow andKerry to play at this level.[13][14][15] Castlebar Celtic and Tullamore Town both withdraw following the conclusion of the2010 season but among their replacements wereFanad United. The non-reserve teams also represented the A Championship in theLeague of Ireland Cup and theFAI Cup.[16][17]
In 2009 at theLeague of Ireland clubs' annual convention,Dundalk called for the A Championship to be scrapped, arguing that it was putting an unwelcome financial burden on participating clubs. At the same conventionWaterford United proposed that it should be optional rather than compulsory for senior sides to field a reserve team in the league.Drogheda United raised concerns about the "unacceptable level" of refereeing. According to a report in theIrish Independent one club, short of two players for an away match, paid two locals to make up their team while a number of fixtures were postponed because clubs did not have enough players.[18]
Following the conclusion of the2011 season, the A Championship was absorbed into theLeague of Ireland U19 Division.[12]Cobh Ramblers andTralee Dynamos both unsuccessfully applied to join the2012 League of Ireland First Division.[19][20] Ramblers did however join the First Division in2013 and Dynamos, together withFanad United, joined the U19 Division.[21][22][23] In2013Shamrock Rovers entered theirreserve team in the First Division.[24][25][26]
The A Championship format saw the members of the league split into two groups, divided roughly into southern and northern groups. The two groups used a traditionalround-robin format. In2008,2009 and2010, the two group winners played off in a final.[7][10] In2011 the two group runners-up also qualified for the title play-off.[27] Apromotion and relegation system operated between theLeague of Ireland Premier Division, theLeague of Ireland First Division and the A Championship. Reserve teams were ineligible for promotion but the highest placed non-reserve teams qualified for a promotion/relegation play-off against a First Division team providing they finished in the top three of their group.Mervue United in2008 andSalthill Devon in2009 were both promoted to the First Division.[7] In contrastCobh Ramblers were relegated directly from the2008 Premier Division to the2009 A Championship after they failed to obtain a First Division license.[13][10]
| Season | Winner | Results | Runners-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | UCD A | 2–1[6] | Bohemians A | UCD Bowl |
| 2009 | Shamrock Rovers A | 1–0[11] | Salthill Devon | Drom Soccer Park |
| 2010 | UCD A | 2–1[2][8] | Bohemians A | UCD Bowl |
| 2011 | Derry City A | 3–2[3][9] | UCD A | Brandywell Stadium |
| Season | Winner | Result | Runner-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cork City A[28] | 3–2 | Bohemians A | Buckley Park[29] |
| Season | Winner | Result | Runner-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sporting Fingal A | 3–2 | Bohemians A | Dalymount Park |