Abbreviation | IUFU |
---|---|
Formation | 1970–71 |
Region served | Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland |
General Secretary | Brendan Dillon |
Chairman | Terry McAuley |
Parent organization | Football Association of Ireland |
Affiliations | Irish Football Association |
Website | http://www.thirdlevelfootball.ie/iufu/ |
Formerly called | Universities and Colleges Football Union |
The Irish Universities Football Union is the governing body for university association football in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. [1] It is responsible for organizing the Collingwood Cup, the major cup competition for Irish universities. It also manages the only two all Ireland association football leagues – the College & Universities Football League and the Women's Soccer Colleges Association of Ireland League. [2] It is affiliated to the Dublin–based Football Association of Ireland [3] and works closely with both the College Football Association of Ireland (CFAI) and the Belfast–based Irish Football Association. The IUFU also selects the teams that represent Ireland at the Summer Universiade.
The IUFU was originally formed in 1970–71 as the Universities and Colleges Football Union under the leadership of Dr. Tony O'Neill, the club secretary/manager of University College Dublin A.F.C. and an FAI general secretary. In 1972 a separate association, the CFAI, was established for college teams. The IUFU initially took over the organization of the Collingwood Cup before introducing new competitions such as the Collingwood Plate, the North–South University League, the Harding Cup for freshman and first year students and the Crowley Cup for reserve team players. In 2006–07 the IUFU, in conjunction with the CFAI, established the Umbro sponsored Colleges and Universities Football League. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
In 2015 the IUFU became involved in an internal dispute involving Ulster University and their campus football teams. On Sunday, 22 February 2015, UU Jordanstown were due to play UCD in the first round of the Collingwood Cup. However, on Friday, 19 February, just two days earlier, the IUFU barred them from the competition. UUJ were banned because they planned to field players from Magee College in the team. Ulster University wanted to enter a single team featuring players from three campuses – Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee. However football officials at Coleraine opposed this idea and entered the Collingwood Cup under their own name. Meanwhile, UU decided to enter the tournament as Jordanstown, while Magee opted not to enter the competition. With the Magee club not involved, UU decided to enter a joint team that included players from both Jordanstown and Magee. However, they were informed by IUFU that it was against Collingwood Cup rules to select players from more than one campus. As UU refused to comply with the IUFU requests and enter a team that only consisted of players from the Jordanstown campus, the IUFU opted to expel them from the competition. Meanwhile, the team representing Coleraine competed in the tournament, however according to club officials, they did not receive any funding from their Ulster University, who do not recognise them as an official university team. [1]
The IUFU selects teams to play against teams representing the CFAI and Irish Defence Forces. [9] The IUFU also chooses a team to represent Ireland at the Summer Universiade. [10]
Several clubs affiliated to the IUFU play in leagues and divisions within the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland football league systems.
County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. Before the partition of Ireland, it was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) and today has a population of about 247,132.
Ulster University, legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It is the largest university in Northern Ireland and the second-largest university on the island of Ireland, after the federal National University of Ireland.
Newtownabbey is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course. It surrounds Carnmoney Hill, and was formed from the merging of several small villages including Whiteabbey, Glengormley and Carnmoney. At the 2011 Census, Metropolitan Newtownabbey Settlement had a population of 65,646, making it the third largest settlement in Northern Ireland. It is part of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.
The Ulster University Magee campus is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland and opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological college. Since 1953, it has had no religious affiliation and provides a broad range of undergraduate and postgraduate academic degree programmes in disciplines ranging from business, law, social work, creative arts & technologies, cinematic arts, design, computer science and computer games to psychology and nursing.
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The Ulster University at Coleraine is a campus of Ulster University in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It houses the administrative headquarters of the university and is the most traditional in outlook, with a focus on science and the humanities. It was founded in 1968 as the New University of Ulster and was later known as the University of Ulster at Coleraine until October 2014 when it was rebranded with the rest of the university to be known as Ulster University at Coleraine. The Coleraine campus is situated on the banks of the River Bann in Coleraine with views to the Causeway Coast and the hills of County Donegal to the West.
CLG Eoghan Rua Cúil Raithin is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Despite some of the club's catchment area being in County Antrim, the club is a member of the Derry GAA. Eoghan Rua currently cater for Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie, and Ladies' Gaelic football and also compete in Scór and Scór n nÓg. The club's name commemorates Eoghan Rua Ó Néill.
The Trench Cup is the second tier Gaelic football championship trophy for Third Level Education Colleges, Institutes of Technology and Universities in Ireland and England. The Trench Cup Championship is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideachais, the Gaelic Athletic Association's Higher Education Council.
Ulster University at Jordanstown Football Club is a Northern Irish, intermediate football club playing in Division 1A of the Northern Amateur Football League. It is affiliated with the Ulster University at Jordanstown.
Dublin University Association Football Club is an Irish association football club based at Trinity College Dublin. Founded in 1883, Dublin University A.F.C. is the oldest surviving association football club in the Republic of Ireland. Their senior men's team currently competes in the Leinster Senior League. They have previously played in both the League of Ireland B Division and the League of Ireland U21 Division. The club also enters teams in the College & Universities Football League, the Women's Soccer Colleges Association of Ireland League, the Collingwood Cup and the FAI Intermediate Cup. The club has previously entered teams in both the Irish Cup and the FAI Cup.
Ulster Elks was an Irish men's basketball team based in Jordanstown, Northern Ireland. The team competed in the Irish Super League and National League Division 1 and played its home games at the Ulster University Sports Centre. They also played in the Basketball Northern Ireland Premier League. The team was a division of Ulster Elks Basketball Club and was directly associated with Ulster University.
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The 2011 Ashbourne Cup inter-collegiate camogie championship was staged at the NUIG sports complex in Dangan, Galway over the weekend of February 19–20 with the finals in Pearse Stadium, Salthill. It was won by Waterford Institute of Technology who defeated University College Cork in the final by eight points, a repeat of the pairing and result, though not the margin of victory, of the 1999 final and 2010 final. Player of the tournament was WIT's Katrina Parrock.
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