Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland ( FAI Irish: Cumann Peile na hÉireann ) is the Football Association in the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1921 in Dublin. The FAI organized among others, the national teams of men and women, the Irish Cup competition and the League Cup, and since the merger with the Football League of Ireland, the two professional leagues. Together with the Northern Ireland IFA hosted the FAI since 2005 the cross-border cup competition all-Ireland Setanta Sports Cup.
History
Separation and Start-up
Following the partition of Ireland, the three Dublin-based clubs of the all-Ireland Irish Football League dissolved. However, they were initially in the Irish Football Association, which had its headquarters in Belfast, and played even in the Cup competition. After the IFA in April 1921 wanted to perform the replay in the Irish Cup semi-final between defending champions Shelbourne ( from Dublin) and Glenavon ( from Lurgan ) contrary to usual practice not in Dublin, but in Belfast, the band was finally torn. Shelbourne did not occur and refrained from further participation.
In June 1921 a meeting in Dublin representatives of associations and regional associations and founded the Football League of Ireland, the first with eight clubs from the capital took up their game operation. Three months later, founded the Football League and the regional associations of Leinster and Munster, the FAI Football Association of Southern Ireland. A separate cup competition was launched, named after the founding of the Irish Free State Free State Cup. League and Cup won in the first year St. James 's Gate FC.
For Northern Ireland the case League, a league from the Catholic republican west Belfast, the FAI joined; the association Alton United from this league even won the 1923 FAI Cup. This connection across the border ended with the recording of the FAI in FIFA. In order to enter the world football body, she had her name in " Football Association of the Irish Free State " ( Football Association of the Irish Free State, FAIFS ) change and limited to the responsibility for the 26 counties within the Free State. ( This restriction does today - with one exception: since 1985, the Northern Irish club Derry City may participate in the Republic of the game thanks to a special operation between FIFA, IFA and FAI. )
National in the Free State
In 1924 took a selection of players from the FAI as a team of the Irish Free State in part at the Olympic football tournament. On 28 May 1924, was the first international match at the Olympic Stadium of Colombes, the Irish defeated Bulgaria 1-0. They were thus qualified for the quarter-finals, which they lost 1:2 after extra time against the Netherlands. The next day, they still won a friendly match against Estonia. In records from the period, including the records of the FAI, the play will be counted as regular internationals, although there were pure amateur teams. After the 1960s, they have been reclassified as an amateur matches; but In 1999, FIFA, that also matches can be counted on early Olympic competitions as full internationals. The first, organized by the FAIFS even international match there was in March 1926; in Turin, the team lost to Italy 0-3. In April 1927 came the first home game in Dublin, also against Italy. An Lansdowne Road 20,000 spectators watched the 1-2 defeat.
Both associations, IFA and FAI / FAIFS, claim for themselves to represent the whole island. In the following years there were several attempts to lead both organizations to each other, but failed due to discrepancies as to which organization should play the leading role. While the FAIFS renounced player from Northern Ireland to rely in their national team, the IFA is not held back in this regard and sat activists from the Free State in their caps a. In 1936, the FAIFS prior to the renaming of the state in the "Republic of Ireland " its old name Football Association of Ireland again. Citing the Constitution of the Republic now also recruited the FAI players from the north for the Irish national team. Overall, there were at least 38 players who played in both the FAI 's team as well as in the IFA selection. The FAI was from this practice but again, after the IFA in 1946 was re-entered the FIFA; the north called until 1950 Player of the Republic in his team.
1950s to 1980s
For many years, limited the popularity of football in Dublin and a few cities in the provinces. In some areas, as the game of English soccer was considered and dismissed as " garrison game", as it often had brought it to the cities teams in the British Army. Even in academia, little football was played; Rugby, Gaelic football and other ball games were popular. The Gaelic Athletic Association ruled out even to 1971 members, the " foreign " sports played. Only towards the end of the 1960s, the football game began to gain here.
The national team could have up to the mid-1980s have had little success. In the qualifications for EM or Tournaments they failed regularly, even if only slightly. In qualifying for the European Championship in 1980 there was the first time for direct comparison of the teams of the two Irish associations; while it was accompanied by Fanausschreitungen in Dublin on the day of the match, a 0-0 draw in Dalymount Park; in the return match Northern Ireland won 1-0.
Increasing popularity of international success
Only after the English Altinternationale Jack Charlton took over as team manager in 1986 the national team, the success was established. Ireland qualified for the European Championship in Germany in 1988, losing only to the eventual champions Netherlands and was in the group behind England. At the World Cup in Italy in 1990 eliminated " Jack's Heroes" in the quarter final against the host. In the U.S. in 1994, the team was also the group stage.
With the international success of the national team since the 1980 football received more media and in particular television presence and thus more fans and more money for the FAI. The Association drew attention to himself by good youth work - 1997 U-20 National Team World Cup was third, in 1998, the U-16 and U-18 teams of the Irish each European champions in their age class. In addition to the professional competitions today there is a U-21 League Cup as well as a Junior and an Intermediate Cup for clubs that do not play in the League of Ireland. In addition, the FAI also organizes football competitions in schools.
UEFA five year ranking
Position in the UEFA five year ranking ( in parentheses the last year placement). The abbreviation CL and EL countries behind the coefficients indicate the number of representatives in the 2014/15 season of the Champions League and the Europa League.
- 34 (32 ) Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina (league, cup ) - coefficient: 7.833 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 35 (36 ) Moldova Moldova (league, cup ) - coefficient: 7,666 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 36 (33 ) Ireland Ireland (league, cup ) - coefficient: 7.375 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 37 (35 ) Lithuania Lithuania (league, cup ) - coefficient: 6.500 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 38 (40 ) Kazakhstan (league, cup ) - coefficient: 5.958 - CL: 1, EL: 3
As of the end of the European campaign of 2012/13