The Irish League Cup is the third-highest rated competition in domestic Northern Irish football competition after the Irish Premier League and Irish Cup. It is currently sponsored by CIS Co-operative Insurance. Previous sponsors have been Wilkinson Sword, Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Roadferry. Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... Official logo of the Irish Premier League The Irish Premier League is the top tier of the Irish Football League, which operates in Northern Ireland. ... The Irish Cup is the national cup knock-out competition in Northern Irish football. ... CIS Co-operative Insurance is a large insurance company based in Manchester, England. ... Wilkinson Sword is the name given to a brand of mens shaving equipment. ... The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ... Budweiser is an adjective in German describing something from the city ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice (German: Budweis) in the Czech Republic. ...

The League Cup winners qualify for the next season's all-Ireland Setanta Cup. The Setanta Cup is a football competition featuring clubs from both political entities on the island of Ireland. ...

Format

The competition is for the sixteen Irish Premier League clubs, and combines league and knock-out systems. The sixteen teams are drawn into four groups, and the four teams in each group play each other twice (once at home and once away), making a total of six games each at this stage. Three points are awarded for a win, and one point for a draw. If two teams finish level on points, goal difference is used to separate them. If teams are still level on goal difference, then the team with the most goals scored is placed highest. The two highest-placed teams in each group after the six games qualify for the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage consists of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final: each of these games is “played to a finish”, i.e. extra time and penalties are used as necessary if the game ends in a draw. The group winners receive a home tie in the quarter-finals. Official logo of the Irish Premier League The Irish Premier League is the top tier of the Irish Football League, which operates in Northern Ireland. ... A list of professional sports leagues: Auto racing Champcars, formerly CART (Official Page) Formula One, Grand Prix racing (Official Site) IRL (Indy Racing League) (Official Page) NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) (Official Page) NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) (Official Page) Baseball Major League Baseball Minor League Baseball... A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout or sudden death tournament, is a type of tournament where the loser of each match is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event. ... In sports such as ice hockey and soccer, goal difference (that is, goals scored less goals conceded) is often the first tie-breaker used to rank teams which finish a competition with an equal number of points. ... Extra time is an additional period played at the end of some games of football (soccer) if the score is tied after the two standard periods (halves) of play. ... A penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches which would have otherwise been drawn or tied. ...

The League Cup is the first competition of the season, with the group stage taking place in August and September. The knock-out stage then takes place from October to December. In recent years the final has been played on a Saturday afternoon in December and has been broadcast live on television since the 2005-06 season.

History

The competition began as a straight knock-out competition in 1986/87, and also included teams from the now-defunct Irish League B Division until 1997-98. Since 1998-99 only senior Irish League and Irish Premier League teams have competed. Since 2001-02, the group/knock-out system has been used. The Irish Football League (IFL), or Irish League, is a league of football (soccer) clubs in Northern Ireland. ... Official logo of the Irish Premier League The Irish Premier League is the top tier of the Irish Football League, which operates in Northern Ireland. ...

When it was first introduced it was one of a number of senior cup competitions in Northern Ireland run by the Irish League, originally to compensate for the relatively few league fixtures (traditionally 22 or 26), but also as vehicles for sponsorship revenue. The League Cup would have been considered less prestigious than the long-standing Gold Cup and Ulster Cup. Over the past decade or so, however, these other cup competitions have been phased out as the number of Irish League fixtures has increased and the public appetite for additional competitions has reduced, leaving the League Cup as the only surviving cup competition run by the Irish League and now established as the third most prestigious competition in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... The Gold Cup is a now-defunct cup competition which involved competitors from Northern Ireland. ... The Irish Football League (IFL), or Irish League, is a league of football (soccer) clubs in Northern Ireland. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ...

The actual trophy is the old City Cup, which was another senior Irish League competition that was ended in 1971.

2007/08

The 2007/08 competition has reached the quarter-final stage. All 4 matches have been played as follows.

• Cliftonville 3 - Newry City 3, after extra time (Newry City wins on penalties)
• Portadown 3 - Crusaders 4
• Glentoran 1 - Dungannon Swifts 0
• Linfield 5 - Lisburn Distillery 1

Cliftonville F.C. (the Reds) is an Northern Irish football team playing in the Irish Premier League. ... Newry City is a Northern Irish football club playing in the Irish Premier League. ... Portadown FC is a Northern Ireland football club, playing in the Irish Football League. ... Crusaders F.C. is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Premier League. ... Glentoran F.C. . a Northern Irish football club, playing in Belfast. ... Dungannon Swifts FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Linfield F.C. (the Blues) are a Northern Irish football team, founded in March 1886 in south Belfast, who play at Windsor Park, the home of the Northern Ireland international team. ... Lisburn Distillery FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ...

List of finals

Cliftonville FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Linfield F.C. (the Blues) are a Northern Irish football team, founded in March 1886 in south Belfast, who play at Windsor Park, the home of the Northern Ireland international team. ... Coleraine FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Bangor FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Coleraine FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Linfield F.C. (the Blues) are a Northern Irish football team, founded in March 1886 in south Belfast, who play at Windsor Park, the home of the Northern Ireland international team. ... Larne FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Glentoran FC is a Northern Irish football club, playing in Belfast. ... Ards FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Glenavon FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Newry City FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Glentoran FC is a Northern Irish football club, playing in Belfast. ... Linfield F.C. (the Blues) are a Northern Irish football team, founded in March 1886 in south Belfast, who play at Windsor Park, the home of the Northern Ireland international team. ... Coleraine FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... Portadown FC is a Northern Ireland football club, playing in the Irish Football League. ... Linfield F.C. (the Blues) are a Northern Irish football team, founded in March 1886 in south Belfast, who play at Windsor Park, the home of the Northern Ireland international team. ... Crusaders FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ... The famous gasometers, which are now listed buildings. ... This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ...

Performance by club

External links

• Irish FA Website
• Irish Premier League Website
• Irish Football Club Project
• Irish League Forums