Friday, July 18, 2008

All-Ireland competitions re-structured

With the beginning of the All-Ireland league next season, there will be a number of changes to the structure of the Irish cup competitions.


Here's the basic rundown: The dates for the five rounds of the All-Ireland league are: October 18th 2008, November 29th 2008, January 31st 2009, March 7th 2009, April 4th 2009, with the finals taking place on May 2nd and 3rd 2009.

The entry for the Irish Senior Cup will now comprise of Senior 1 teams only, plus the semi-finalist from the newly introduced Irish Trophy cup with all matches to be played after Christmas. The Irish Trophy cup is open to all non-Senior 1 teams, with all stages up to the semi-finals played before Christmas.

A similar move takes place for the Irish Junior Cup. It is open to all 2nd eleven teams of Senior 1 clubs with the first round taking place in November. The Irish Challenge Cup is open to all 2nd eleven teams of Senior 2 and Junior Clubs. The first round will be in December.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are the All Ireland league weekends free or has the branch made a decision on that yet?

Anonymous said...

i was at the AIL meeting and branches have been "requested" to leave AIL weekends free 3 days before and 3 days after AIL games but whether this will actually happen is a different matter altogether...

Queso said...

The changes for the Irish Senior Cup seem pretty straight forward with the top 4 sides outside of Senior One qualifying into the first round proper and then in addition playing their own semi- and final for the Irish Senior Trophy.

I'm a little confused by the Irish Junior Cup though!!

Does this mean there will now not be any "junior" first teams taking part?? i.e. those first teams playing below senior division status (div. 1 and 2)??

Anonymous said...

Have the IHA managed to get any sponsorship for the AIL. A travelling team will consist of 20 people, accommodation, travel and food must come to at least 2,000 Euro. When you factor in the figures 10 teams each will play at least twice on the road the figure adds up. Where will the gate receipts go? "Show me the money" Peter Agnew.

ps great site Stephen

Anonymous said...

There will not be that much travel involved..maybe 2 matches, have a look at the draw. Many of the games are being played after 5PM so teams from Dublin can easily travel up the M1 on that day.

I hear the IHU are finalising logo, sponsorship details etc for the new 'Irish Hockey League' which it will now be called

Anonymous said...

where are the fixtures for this?