The Champions Cup (known as the Unite the Union Champions Cup for sponsorship purposes) was a cross-border association football super cup inaugurated in 2019 that features the league champions from both football associations on the island of Ireland. The competition sees the League of Ireland Premier Division champions from the Republic of Ireland face the NIFL Premiership champions from Northern Ireland. The Champions Cup is the successor to the Setanta Sports Cup, the previous all-Ireland competition which ran from 2005 until 2014. The Champions Cup is sponsored by Unite the Union, the British and Irish trade union.[2] The 2019 edition was the only one contested, and as of 2022 there is little prospect of the competition returning.[3]
 | |
| Organising body | Irish Football Association Football Association of Ireland |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| Region |  Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Current champions | Dundalk |
| Most successful club(s) | Dundalk (1 title)[1] |
History
editThe Champions Cup is the seventh major all-Ireland competition since Irish football was split into two jurisdictions following the partition of Ireland in 1921. Previous competitions include the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup (1941–1949), the North-South Cup (1961–1963), the Blaxnit Cup (1967–1974), the Texaco Cup (1973–1975), the Tyler Cup (1978–1980), and the Setanta Sports Cup (2005–2014). There was also the Irish 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.
The final edition of the previous all-Ireland competition, the Setanta Sports Cup, took place in 2014. Linfield and Cliftonville 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 and Coleraine 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 sponsor Setanta Sports was acquired by Eir and became Eir Sport in 2016, with the competition eventually being scrapped.
In February 2019, the FAI 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 the Northern Ireland Football League and the League 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 the COVID-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 the Aviva Stadium in Dublin drawn over Belfast's Windsor Park, while Linfield would face Coleraine in one Semi-final following 1st and 2nd placed finishes respectively in the 2020–21 NIFL Premiership, with the other Semi-final likely to be an all Dublin affair of Shamrock Rovers vs St Patrick's Athletic as 1st and 2nd in the 2021 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 the FAI and the IFA 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 was called off, with scheduling issues cited as the reason for the decision.[3]
Editions
edit2019
editIn the inaugural competition, the 2018–19 NIFL Premiership champions, Linfield, faced the 2019 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]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Dundalk crush Linfield 7-1 on aggregate to win new cross-border competition". the42. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ a b "INTRODUCING THE UNITE THE UNION CHAMPIONS CUP". SSE Airtricity League. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ a b "SSE Airtricity League". www.sseairtricityleague.ie.
- ^ "Cliftonville and Linfield withdraw from Setanta Cup". BBC Sport. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "Concerns over Setanta Sports Cup fixtures". BBC Sport. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Setanta Sports Cup postponed to 2016 as clubs fails to agree dates". BBC Sport. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ^ "NI Football League surprised at FAI's champions match announcement". BBC Sport. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "New look Unite the Union Champions Cup to be played in 2021". November 20, 2020.
- ^ Cummiskey, Gavin. "Aviva Stadium to host Unite the Union Champions Cup decider". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Unite The Union Champions Cup postponed again". November 19, 2021 – via www.rte.ie.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Dundalk crush Linfield 7-1 on aggregate to win new cross-bordecompetition". The 42. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Champions Cup: Dundalk 6-0 Linfield (7-1 on aggregate)". BBC Sport. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.