The FAI Futsal Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for futsal teams based in the Republic of Ireland. The winners qualify to represent the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Futsal Cup.[1][2][3] The competition was introduced in 2007 and the inaugural winners were Shamrock Rovers. The 2007 tournament was referred to as the Eircom U21 Futsal League and the 2008 and 2009 tournaments were referred to as the Futsal League of Ireland or the FAI National Futsal League. Since 2010 it has generally been referred to as the Ireland Futsal Union Cup.
| Organising body | Football Association of Ireland |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Region |  Republic of Ireland |
| Current champions | Blue Magic |
| Most successful club(s) | Eden (5 wins) Blue Magic (5 finals) |
History
editEarly tournaments
editThe FAI Futsal Cup was originally awarded to the winners of the Eircom U21 Futsal League, a tournament featuring futsal teams attached to clubs playing in the League of Ireland U21 Division. The competition was officially launched at Dublin City University on 13 February 2007 with a reception attended by, among others, Packie Bonner. Eights clubs from the U21 Division, including Bohemians, Bray Wanderers, Drogheda United, Dundalk, Monaghan United, Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic and UCD entered the inaugural tournament.[4][5] These eight clubs first played in a league stage featuring a single round of games.[6] The top four from this stage – UCD, Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians and Bray Wanderers – then qualified for a final four tournament played at the National Basketball Arena. In the final, with a team coached by Dave Campbell and featuring Ciarán Kilduff and Dane Massey, Shamrock Rovers defeated UCD 4–2.[7][8][9][10] St Patrick's Athletic won the second tournament in 2008 [11][12] and Cork City, with a team featuring Kevin Long, were winners in 2009.[13][14][15] Long was one of several future Republic of Ireland internationals who featured in the early tournaments. Others included David Meyler (Cork City),[16] Séamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers) and James McClean (Derry City). Former Republic of Ireland international, Gary Kelly, played for Drogheda United in the 2008 tournament. Other players to feature included Gary McCabe and Jay O'Shea, both of whom played for Bray Wanderers.[17][18]
Format
editAs the number of entrants increased the format of the tournament changed. Fourteen clubs entered the 2009 competition and clubs initially played in three divisions – a Leinster Division, a Munster Division and a North-West Division.[19] In 2010 the tournament was expanded to include clubs from the Emerald Futsal League in addition to futsal teams associated with League of Ireland clubs. Junior clubs and representative teams of junior leagues were also invited to participate, resulting in a record entry of 32 teams. The 2010 format saw four preliminary qualifying tournaments – one per province – been staged throughout the country.[1][18] The 2015 tournament featured eleven clubs.[20]
Eden era
editPlaying under various names including, Sporting Fingal EID,[21] EID Futsal [22] and Eden College,[2][23] Eden Futsal Club won the FAI Futsal Cup five times in a row between 2010 and 2014.[24]
Blue Magic
editAfter finishing as runners up in 2010, 2011 and 2012,[21][22][2] Blue Magic won the FAI Futsal Cup for the first time in 2015 [25] and then retained the cup in 2016.[26]
Finals
edit| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-Up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Shamrock Rovers[8][9][27] | 4–2 | UCD | National Basketball Arena |
| 2008 | St Patrick's Athletic[11][12] | 3–1 (Note 1) | Bohemians | National Basketball Arena |
| 2009 | Cork City[13][14][15] | 4–2 (Note 1) | St Patrick's Athletic | National Basketball Arena |
| 2010 | Sporting Fingal EID[21] | 4–2 | Blue Magic | BRL Umbro Arena, Ballymun |
| 2011 | EID Futsal[22][28] | 3–2 | Blue Magic | Gormanston College |
| 2012 | EID Futsal[2] | 7–4 | Blue Magic | ALSAA Sports Complex |
| 2013 | Eden College[23][29] | 6–2 | Shamrock Rovers | National Basketball Arena |
| 2014 | Eden[24][30] | 6–3 | FCG Dublin Futsal | AIT International Arena |
| 2015 | Blue Magic [25] | 6–5 | B&H United | National Basketball Arena |
| 2016 | Blue Magic [26] | 7–3 | Transylvania | |
| 2017 |
- Notes
- ^1 After extra time
References
edit- ^ a b "FAI Futsal Cup Fixtures announced today". www.fai.ie. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Irish futsal champions make trip to Vienna". www.fai.ie. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Entries sought for FAI Futsal Cup 2015". www.fai.ie. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "FAI Launch Under 21 Futsal League Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 13 February 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Irish Futsal Under 21 league". www.futsalplanet.com. 14 February 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "IRL Eircom U21 Futsal League 2007". www.futsalplanet.com. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Rovers' Futsal team celebrate in Tallaght". www.shamrockrovers.ie. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Eircom FAI Under-21 Futsal League final report". www.futsalplanet.com. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ a b "IRL Eircom U21 Futsal League 2007 - Play-off". www.futsalplanet.com. 29 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "FAI under-21 Futsal League of Ireland". www.futsalplanet.com. 28 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b "eircom League of Ireland Futsal League Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 16 March 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Ireland Eircom Futsal League 2008 - Play-off". www.futsalplanet.com. 16 March 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Cork City claim Futsal trophy". www.fai.ie. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "St. Patrick's Athletic v Cork City - Futsal League of Ireland Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Pats Narrowly Defeated In Futsal Final". www.stpatsfc.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "David Meyler – Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "English Premier League Irish players who have experienced Futsal in Ireland". www.facebook.com. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Irish Futsal ready for a new season". www.futsalplanet.com. 17 January 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Futsal to kick-off this weekend". www.sseairtricityleague.ie. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "FAI Futsal Cup 2015" (PDF). www.fai.ie. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c "Sporting Fingal claim 2010 Futsal Cup". www.fai.ie. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ a b c "Blue Magic 2 EID Futsal 3". www.sseairtricityleague.ie. 8 April 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Eden College continue to dominate FAI Futsal Cup". www.fai.ie. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Eden claim FAI Futsal Cup for third year running". www.fai.ie. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Irish club Blue Magic learns UEFA Futsal Cup draw". www.fai.ie. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Blue Magic (Futsal)". www.uefa.com. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "About Futsal – St. Itas Futsal". stitasfutsal.weebly.com. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "EID Futsal v Blue Magic - FAI Futsal Cup Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Shamrock Rovers v Eden College - FAI Futsal Cup Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Eden Futsal v FCG Dublin Futsal - FAI Futsal Cup Final Photos". www.sportsfile.com. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Eden Futsal". www.futsalplanet.com. 2 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Ireland: National Futsal Championship - Men". www.futsalplanet.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.