Organising body | Football Association of Ireland |
---|---|
Founded | 2023 |
Region | Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland |
Number of teams | 16 |
Current champions | Galway United |
Most successful club(s) | Galway United (2 titles) |
The All-Island Cup, known as the Avenir Sports Women's All-Island Cup for sponsorship purposes, [1] is a women's association football competition held on an all-Ireland basis between women's football clubs from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 2023. [2]
Historically, association football in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was organised separately due to the two associations holding separate UEFA membership. In 2023, the Republic of Ireland's Football Association of Ireland came up with the idea of an all-Ireland competition in advance of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, designed to keep competitive women's football going during this time. [3] It was also envisaged to showcase women's association football in the island of Ireland. [4] The idea was supported by Northern Ireland's Irish Football Association and the competition was planned with 11 teams from the FAI's League of Ireland Women's Premier Division and 5 from the IFA's Women's Premiership. [5] The draw for the inaugural competition was made at the FAI's Headquarters in Dublin. [6]
Prior to the semi-finals, due to Cliftonville qualifying, there was concern over the date of the final due to a potential clash with either the Northern Ireland women's national football team matches or the 2023 NIFL Women's Premiership League Cup Cliftonville were due to play in. [7] However the Irish League agreed to move it. [8] Galway United were the first All-Ireland Cup champions by defeating Cliftonville 1–0 at The Showgrounds, Sligo, winning their first major women's trophy. [9]
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Galway United | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Shelbourne | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | ||
3 | Athlone Town | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | ||
4 | Linfield | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 |
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wexford Youths | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Shamrock Rovers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | ||
3 | Glentoran | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 4 | ||
4 | Peamount United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cliftonville | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Sion Swifts | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | ||
3 | Bohemians | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | ||
4 | Sligo Rovers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 1 |
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cork City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | DLR Waves | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | ||
3 | Crusaders Strikers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | ||
4 | Treaty United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 |
Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
---|---|---|
Cliftonville | 1–0 [10] | Cork City |
Wexford Youths | 1–1 (3-4 p) [11] | Galway United |
The 2024 edition of the All-Island Cup was drawn on 22 February 2024. [12]
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Peamount United | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Linfield | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | ||
3 | Bohemians | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 | ||
4 | Lisburn | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wexford Youths | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Shelbourne | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 | ||
3 | Cork City | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 | ||
4 | Cliftonville | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Shamrock Rovers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 4 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Treaty United | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 | ||
3 | Crusaders Strikers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 3 | ||
4 | DLR Waves | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
Pos | Nat | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Galway United | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 | |
2 | Athlone Town | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | ||
3 | Sligo Rovers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 | ||
4 | Glentoran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a semi-professional association football club playing in the NIFL Premiership – the top division of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club was founded in September 1879 by John McAlery in the suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast and are the founders of football in Ireland.
Crusaders Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1898, is based in north Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview.
Larne Football Club is a professional Northern Irish football club based in Larne, County Antrim, that competes in the NIFL Premiership.
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup is the primary football knockout cup competition in Northern Ireland. 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.
The Northern Ireland Football League Cup is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League. It is the third-most prestigious competition in domestic Northern Irish football after the NIFL Premiership and Irish Cup. It should not be confused with the Irish League Floodlit Cup which ran from 1987–88 to 1997–98. Unlike the Irish Cup, the League Cup does not have a berth for UEFA Europa Conference League qualification. The cup has been operated by the Northern Ireland Football League since the 2013–14 season when it took over the administration from the Irish Football Association (IFA), after which the cup was renamed to the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Cup.
David Gerard McDaid is an Irish professional footballer who plays for NIFL Premiership side Glenavon as a striker.
Newry City Athletic Football Club are a semi-professional Northern Irish football club competing in the NIFL Championship. They are based in Newry, County Down and play at the Showgrounds. The club's colours are blue and white.
The 2013–14 Northern Ireland Football League Cup was the 28th edition of the Northern Ireland Football League Cup, Northern Ireland's secondary football knockout cup competition, and the first season under the control of the Northern Ireland Football League. It was contested by the 12 members of the NIFL Premiership and the 30 members of the NIFL Championship. The competition began on 13 August 2013 and ended on 25 January 2014 with the final. The competition was without a principal sponsor up until the final, as Irn Bru ended their sponsorship following the conclusion of the 2012–13 competition. WASP Solutions became the Cup's new sponsor in January 2014.
The 2014–15 Northern Ireland Football League Cup was the 29th edition of the Northern Ireland Football League Cup, Northern Ireland's secondary football knockout cup competition, and the second season of the competition under the control of the Northern Ireland Football League. It was contested by the 12 members of the NIFL Premiership and the 29 members of the NIFL Championship. The competition began on 12 August 2014 with the first round, and concluded on 24 January 2015 with the final.
The 2015–16 Irish Cup was the 136th edition of the Irish Cup, the premier knockout cup competition in Northern Irish football since its introduction in 1881. The competition began on 18 August 2015 with the first round and concluded with the final at Windsor Park on 7 May 2016. The cup was sponsored by Tennent's Lager, the competition's first title sponsor since 2012.
The 2015–16 Northern Ireland Football League Cup was the 30th edition of Northern Ireland's football knockout cup competition for national league clubs, and the third edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. This season's League Cup was sponsored by JBE Mechanical Electrical, and was contested by the 40 clubs in the NIFL Premiership, NIFL Championship 1 and NIFL Championship 2. The number of participants fell by one this season following Ballymoney United's relegation from the 2014–15 NIFL Championship 2 to regional football. The competition began on 18 August 2015 with the first round, and concluded on 13 February 2016 with the final at Solitude.
The 2017–18 NIFL Premiership was the 10th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 117th season of Irish league football overall, and the 5th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.
The Champions Cup 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. The 2019 edition was the only one contested, and as of 2022 there is little prospect of the competition returning.
Ronan Hale is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Ross County, having previously played for Cliftonville, Larne, St Patrick's Athletic, Crusaders, Derry City and Birmingham City. His brother Rory Hale is also a professional footballer, currently with Cliftonville and the pair's grandfather is Derry City and Crusaders legend Danny Hale.
The 2021–22 Northern Ireland Football League Cup was the 35th edition of Northern Ireland's football knockout cup competition for national league clubs, and the seventh edition of the competition as the Northern Ireland Football League Cup. The competition was contested by the 35 member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League, commencing on 31 July 2021 with the first round and concluding with the final on 13 March 2022. The competition was sponsored by McLean Bookmakers, the title sponsors of the cup since the 2017–18 season.
Rory Hale is an Irish footballer who plays for Cliftonville in the NIFL Premiership.
The 2022–23 NIFL Premiership was the 15th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 122nd season of Irish League football overall, and the 10th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.
The 2023–24 NIFL Premiership was the 16th season of the NIFL Premiership, the 123rd season of Irish League football overall, and the 11th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League. The 38-game season commenced on 4 August 2023 and concluded on 27 April 2024.
Cliftonville Ladies Football Club is a women's association football club from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club is the women's team of Cliftonville, and plays in the Women's Premiership, the top tier women's football league of Irish League.
Galway United Football Club (Women) is the women's section of the League of Ireland association football club Galway United, based in the city of Galway. The team currently complete in the League of Ireland Women's Premier Division. The club is the successor club to Galway W.F.C., with Galway United launching teams at senior, u-19 and u-17 level after Galway W.F.C announced its withdrawal from the Women's National League at the end of 2022.