The Setanta Cup is a football competition featuring clubs from both political entities on the island of Ireland. It was inaugurated in 2005 as a cross-border competition between clubs from the Eircom Premier League from the Republic of Ireland and the Irish Premier League from Northern Ireland. Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) The Current Laws of the Game (LOTG) The Rec. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eircom Premier League is the most senior soccer competition in the Republic of Ireland. ... The Irish Football League (IFL), or Irish League, is a league of football (soccer) clubs in Northern Ireland. ... Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685...

Winners

Linfield were the winners of the inaugural competition of the Setanta Cup with a 2-0 win over Shelbourne in Dublin, Linfields win made them back to back all Ireland Champions as they were the last team to win a North/South competition.

Background

The Setanta Cup is the first cross-border competition since the 1980s. Previous competitions included the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup 1941/42-1948/49, the North-South Cup 1961/62-1962/63, the Blaxnit Cup 1967/68-1973/74, the Texaco Cup 1973/74-1974/75, and the Tyler Cup 1978-1980. The Texaco Cup was a cup competition that involved clubs from the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland that had not qualified for European competions. ...

Previous tournaments ultimately failed due to a lack of interest and security concerns.

Organisation

The Setanta Cup is sponsored by Setanta Sports; the name of the first all-sport Irish T.V. station and also the name of the mythological hero Setanta who grew up to become Cúchulainn. The competition was launched with an impressive package of TV coverage and prize money (EUR350,000 and sponsorship (EUR1.6 million over 4 years). Setanta Sports is a name used by a number of pay-per-view and subscription TV channels operated by Setanta. ... Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ...

The inaugural Cup was played between March 15th and May 21st at the start of the League of Ireland season and the end of the Irish Premier League season.

Launch Quotes

"The Setanta Cup will promote all that's positive about our leagues and this will cascade through all levels of the game." David Chick, Irish Premier League Chairman

"The Setanta Cup not only revives the great tradition of north/south competitions but also provides a huge financial opportunity for clubs." Milo Corcoran, Football Association of Ireland President The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is the organising body for the sport of Association football (soccer) in the Republic of Ireland. ...

"We're delighted to have unveiled the Setanta Cup trophy and are looking forward to the Setanta Cup becoming one of the great Irish sporting events." Niall Cogley, Chief Executive, Setanta Sports [1]

Format

Qualification for the 2005 cup was based on the League and "Premier" Cup performances in the respective countries. The top two in each league and the winners of the FAI Cup and Irish Cup. Teams were split into two groups with the winner of each qualifying for the final. The 2006 competition will feature 4 teams from each league with the winners of the respective secondary cup competitions, the eircom League Cup and Northern Ireland League Cup being added. The competition is likely to feature two groups of four teams with perhaps semi-finals being played. The FAI Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland. ... The Irish Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from Northern Ireland. ... The FAI League Cup is a football competition open to all Football League of Ireland clubs. ... The Irish Football League Cup is a football competition open to all Irish Football League clubs. ...

2005

The 2005 competition saw Cork City, Longford and Shelbourne, represent the League of Ireland, and Glentoran, Linfield and Portadown represent the Irish League. Cork City F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. ... Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. ... Shelbourne F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. ... Glentoran F.C. 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. ... Portadown FC is a Northern Ireland football club, playing in the Irish Football League. ...

With a large financial prize and bragging rights at stake the 2005 Cup was a very competitive and combative affair. On the field there were many controversial moments with erratic and inconsistent match official decisions adding to the already charged atmosphere. But while tempers may have flared among players and club staff, the fans themselves showed that sets of supporters from both sides of the border weren't a security risk.

The eventual winners of the Cup, Linfield, started the campaign poorly losing 2:1 to Longford before going on to win their remaining group matches and beating pre-tournament favourites Shelbourne.

Group 1

Results: Glentoran 2:1 Longford Town, Longford Town 2:1 Linfield, Linfield 3:2 Glentoran, Longford Town 1:0 Glentoran, Linfield 1:0 Longford Town, Glentoran 2:4 Linfield

Group 2

Results: Shelbourne 3:3 Portadown, Cork City 1:0 Shelbourne, Portadown 1:1 Cork City, Portadown 0:1 Shelbourne, Shelbourne 1:0 Cork City, Cork City 0:1 Portadown

Final Linfield 2:0 Shelbourne

2006

Representatives

League of Ireland: Cork City, Derry City, Shelbourne and Drogheda Utd Cork City F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. ... Derry City F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland, it is also the only club in the league from Northern Ireland. ... Shelbourne F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. ... Drogheda United is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. ...

Irish League: Linfield, Glentoran, Portadown and Dungannon Swifts 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. ... Glentoran F.C. is a Northern Irish football club, playing in Belfast. ... Portadown FC is a Northern Ireland football club, playing in the Irish Football League. ... Dungannon Swifts FC is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Football League. ...

A total of 27 matches will determine the winner of the 2nd Setanta Sports Cup. The competition will kick-off with all eight clubs playing on Monday 20th February 2006 and culminates in the final on Saturday 22nd April 2006.

The draw for the competition will be made on Monday 12th December 2005 in Dublin.

Association Football in Ireland
Republic of Ireland Football Association of Ireland - National Team - Football League Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) The Current Laws of the Game (LOTG) The Rec. ... new Irish FA crest, This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is the organising body for the sport of Association football (soccer) in the Republic of Ireland. ... First International Italy 3 - 0 Republic of Ireland (Turin, Italy; 21 March 1926) Largest win Republic of Ireland 8 - 0 Malta (Dublin, Ireland; 16 November 1983) Worst defeat Brazil 7 - 0 Republic of Ireland (Uberlândia, Brazil; 27 May 1982) World Cup Appearances 3 (First in 1990) Best result Quarterfinals... The Football League of Ireland, usually known simply as the League of Ireland or the Eircom League (from the leagues sponsorship by Irish telcommunications company Eircom), is a league of football clubs in the Republic of Ireland. ...
Northern Ireland Irish Football Association - National Team - Football League Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685... This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the organising body for the sport of football (soccer) in Northern Ireland. ... First International Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; February 18, 1882) Largest win Northern Ireland 7 - 0 Wales (Belfast, Northern Ireland; February 1, 1930) Worst defeat Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; February 18, 1882) World Cup Appearances 3 (First in 1958) Best result Quarterfinals, 1958 European Championship Appearances none... The Irish Football League (IFL), or Irish League, is a league of football (soccer) clubs in Northern Ireland. ...
Setanta Cup