 | |
| Organiser(s) | Irish Football Association Football Association of Ireland |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| Abolished | 2020 (postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic and not reestablished) |
| Region | Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland |
| Teams | 2 |
| Last champions | Dundalk |
| Most championships | Dundalk (1 title)[1] |
TheChampions Cup (known as theUnite the Union Champions Cup for sponsorship purposes) was a cross-borderassociation footballsuper cup, run for a single edition in 2019, that featured the league champions from both football associations on the island ofIreland. The competition saw theLeague of Ireland Premier Division champions from theRepublic of Ireland face theNIFL Premiership champions fromNorthern Ireland. The Champions Cup was the successor to theSetanta Sports Cup, the previous all-Ireland competition which ran from 2005 until 2014. The Champions Cup was sponsored byUnite the Union, the British and Irishtrade union.[2] The 2019 edition was the only one contested and, as of 2022, there was reportedly little prospect of the competition returning.[3]
The Champions Cup was the seventh major all-Ireland competition since Irish football was split into two jurisdictions following thepartition of Ireland in 1921. Previous competitions included theDublin and Belfast Intercity Cup (1941–1949), theNorth-South Cup (1961–1963), theBlaxnit Cup (1967–1974), theTexaco Cup (1973–1975), theTyler Cup (1978–1980), and theSetanta Sports Cup (2005–2014). There was also theIrish News Cup (1995–1999), however this is not counted among the major all-Ireland competitions, as neither the league champions or the cup winners were invited.[citation needed]
The final edition of the previous all-Ireland competition, theSetanta Sports Cup, took place in 2014.Linfield andCliftonville declined the invitation to take part, citing inconvenient fixture scheduling and reduced prize money as their reasons for deciding not to enter. As a result,Ballinamallard United andColeraine were invited to take part instead, and the tournament did eventually take place – for what turned out to be the final time.[4] The withdrawal of two high-profile Northern Ireland Football League clubs was a major blow for the competition, and raised doubts regarding its future. The 2015 tournament was initially scheduled to take place as planned, with four clubs from each league. However, in May 2015, NIFL clubs again voiced concerns over fixture scheduling – particularly plans for midweek games.[5] When suitable fixture dates could not be agreed upon by the clubs, the competition was ultimately postponed until 2016.[6] However, the 2016 tournament did not materialise. In December 2015, principal sponsorSetanta Sports was acquired byEir and becameEir Sport in 2016, with the competition eventually being scrapped.
In February 2019, theFAI announced that a 'champions match' would take place between the League of Ireland champions and the Northern Ireland Football League champions. However, the Northern Ireland Football League said they were surprised at the announcement, adding that discussions were still ongoing.[7] In May 2019, after five years without an all-Ireland competition, it was confirmed that a new competition would take place between the champions of theNorthern Ireland Football League and theLeague of Ireland. The inaugural competition was a two-legged tie played in November 2019, with each team playing home and away. The winners received€50,000, while the runners-up received €25,000. A further €25,000 was allocated to community-based projects in the local areas of the two competing clubs.[2]
The 2020 edition was postponed in November 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, while plans for an expanded 4-team tournament were announced for 2021.[8] A draw for the venue to host the final of the 2021 edition was held in October 2021, with theAviva Stadium inDublin drawn overBelfast'sWindsor Park, whileLinfield would faceColeraine in one Semi-final following 1st and 2nd placed finishes respectively in the2020–21 NIFL Premiership, with the other Semi-final likely to be an all Dublin affair ofShamrock Rovers vsSt Patrick's Athletic as 1st and 2nd in the2021 League of Ireland Premier Division.[9] In November 2021, it was announced that the tournament had been postponed again, with a statement citing "in light of the current Covid-19 situation on both sides of the border, Unite The Union has asked theFAI and theIFA to postpone the competition until 2022. Both associations have agreed to the request".[10] On 4 May 2022, it was announced that the 2021 edition of the competition had been called off, with scheduling issues cited as the reason for the decision.[3]
The next time the champions of the two leagues played in a competitive match was in the2024–25 UEFA Conference League, whereShamrock Rovers defeatedLarne F.C. away 4–1.
In the inaugural competition, the2018–19 NIFL Premiership champions,Linfield, faced the2019 League of Ireland Premier Division champions,Dundalk, with the matches played on 8 and 11 November 2019. Dundalk won 7-1 on aggregate to become the first holders.[11][12]
| Governing Bodies | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Teams | |||||||||
| National Leagues | |||||||||
| Provincial Leagues | |||||||||
| County/Local Leagues |
| ||||||||
| National Cups | |||||||||
| Provincial Cups | |||||||||
| All-Ireland Cups | |||||||||
| National teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leagues |
| ||||
| Domestic cups |
| ||||
| Defunct leagues | |||||
| Defunct cups | |||||
| Awards | |||||
