Football League of Ireland
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The Football League of Ireland, usually known simply as the League of Ireland or the Eircom League (from the league's sponsorship by Irish telcom Eircom), is a league of football clubs in the Republic of Ireland. It should not be confused with the Irish League, which is the league in Northern Ireland.
Note, however, that the Football League of Ireland includes one club from N.Ireland, Derry City. Derry City formerly played in the Irish Football League, but was forced to leave that league following the 1972-73 season because of safety & security concerns. Derry City joined the Republic's league at the second level in 1985, after a special dispensation from the Irish Football Association (IFA) and UEFA. It won promotion in 1987, and has stayed in the top flight ever since.
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History
Formed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in 1921, the league originally contained 8 teams and was first won by St. James' Gate FC. Over the next forty years the league grew to eventually twenty-two clubs. In 1985 the league split into two divisions Premier and First Division, with 12 teams in the Premier Division and 10 in the First. Clubs are promoted and relegated between the Premier and First divisions at the end of each season. Also, the club who finishes bottom of the First must reapply for league membership.
In the 1960s and 1970s the League of Ireland reached its height of popularity with clubs in Dublin commanding crowds of up to forty thousand however, in recent years, with the growing popularity of the national team and support for FA Premier League in England and the Scottish Premier League (many Irish football fans prefer to follow English or Scottish clubs' fortunes rather than their local clubs), attendances began to dwindle from thousands to hundreds in some cases.
Meanwhile the Premier Division's representatives in European competitions performed poorly with clubs from smaller European nations such as Lithuania and Iceland beating Irish oppostion easily. There were however, some highlights, Cork City's draw with Bayern Munich in front of 13,000, Derry City's entertaining Benfica and St. Patrick's Athletic narrowly going out to Glasgow Celtic.
In the last several years a mini-reveival has occured with clubs such as Shelbourne, Bohemians and Cork City progressing in European competition. Most recently, in 2004 Shelbourne progressed to the third round of the Champions League only going out to Spanish giants, Deportivo La Coruna.
Until recently the league followed the pattern of the other leagues in the British Isles of starting their league campaigns towards the end of Summer and playing through the Winter until late Spring and playing no league games during the height of Summer. However, due to the league's seeming inability to compete with the FA Premier League and the Scottish Premier League, the league has switched to playing Summer football (like the Scandinavian leagues for example).
Domestically, with the advent of Summer soccer both skill and attendances have improved with many clubs going professional and many former international stars returning home. However, professionalism has cost some clubs. Former greats Shamrock Rovers, now without a home ground, have for 17 years battle yearly against relegation to the lower division. However in the emergance and re-emergance of clubs such as Cork City, Shelbourne and Bohemians, to name a few the future is bright for the Eircom Premier Division and league.
Clubs in Membership
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Premier Division |
First Division |
List of Winners of the League
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Footnotes
- Note 1: St. Patrick's Athletic were deducted fifteen points for use of an ineligible player, thus falling to the 3rd position and allowing Shelbourne to capture the title.
See also
External link
- Football League of Ireland Website (http://www.eircomleague.ie/)