Former All-Ireland Soccer Competitions - Irish Cup, Irish Intermediate Cup, Irish Football League (Paperback)

Chapters: Irish Cup, Irish Intermediate Cup, Irish Football League. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 43. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: For the equivalent tournament in the Republic of Ireland, see FAI Cup. The Irish Cup is the national cup knock-out competition in Northern Irish football. Inaugurated in 1881, it is the fourth oldest national cup competition in the world. Prior to the break-away from the Irish Football Association by clubs from what would become the Irish Free State in 1921, the Irish Cup was the national cup competition for the whole of Ireland. Crusaders are the current holders of the Irish Cup after defeating Cliftonville 10 on 9 May 2009. The Irish Cup is currently sponsored by JJB Sports. It was previously sponsored by Nationwide Building Society and Bass Ireland Ltd. The competition is open to all clubs in Northern Ireland enjoying intermediate or senior status. Clubs obtain such status by meeting minimum criteria laid down by the Irish Football Association in respect of facilities, etc. Each club, for example, must have its own enclosed ground. The twelve senior clubs of the IFA Premiership are exempt until the fifth round, which consists of 32 clubs and is played in January. The twenty-nine members of the IFA Championship enter in the fourth round. The competition begins in September with the first round, and ends with the final in May. In 200910, a total of 105 clubs have entered the competition. The competition format is that of a knock-out. Teams are drawn against each other randomly. The team who is drawn first from each tie is the home team, except in the case of an intermediate team from outside the Championship drawn first against a senior team, when the tie is played at the ground of the senior team. Prior to the fifth round, if the match finishe...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=152567