The Setanta cup

The 2011 Setanta Sports Cup will kick off in February and conclude in May and will be played over four rounds, each round over two legs, except the final. Six Airtricity League of Ireland and six Carling Premiership teams will take part. Clubs who finish in the top four positions in the Airtricity League and Carling Premiership will be invited to participate, along with the winners of both the FAI and Irish Cup competitions. The first round will commence in early February, with eight clubs taking part in that stage of the tournament. The two league champions, FAI Ford Cup winners and JJB Sports Cup winners will receive byes into the quarter-final stage. Milo Corcoran, Chairman of the Setanta Sports Cup Organising Committee said he believed the knockout format "will add even greater excitement to the tournament"
According to wiki.

Who are the six? it says the top 4 plus the cup holders . I take it that its this years cup winners that will be invited ,so will the cup place go to the 5th place if the cup winners have already qualified through the league and take the cup spot and the bye to the quarters with it?

If Sligo finish in the top 4 do Mons go into this as League cup runners up or is there an extra space given to the league??

I think its starting back next May

6th team is a special invite for the organisers incase the holders or Pats don't qualify.

Sure they even cancelled it the year we were gick

The Setanta Sports Cup is a private competition and is organised on the motivation of the private organisers.

Previously, the change for the competition after 2010 was that the respective League that won r=the competition (as opposed to the actual winning club) had 6 clubs and the other League had 5 representatives, 3 + 2 had a bye into quarters and a mixed 1st round to decide the other 3 clubs.
There was no stated guarantee of the Setanta Champions/Holders being a part of the following years competition.
Reminder: Bohemians hold the trophy.

It should be the LoI 2009 FAI cup holders plus the league positions of 2009. This may not be the case with a suspension of the private competition and then the completion into 2010.

Reminder: Cup runners-up qualifying for further competitions is a hang-up from UEFA Cup Winners Cup and the anglo-tradition of promoting the domestic cup as a quality competition.

As usual, the LoI reps appear to be following the League position. Sligo Rovers have qualified by right from their tremendous League Cup win and it is not yet mathematical but the first four placed sides' semi-final place should push the last LoI rep. place to 6th in the Premier Division Table.

The final choice of the competing teams may be based on performance, potential, uniquenessness and romanticism.
Not including other relegation play-off candidates, Dundalk FC v. the wild-child of Monaghan Utd. FC.

The Setanta Sports Cup is a private competition and is organised on the motivation of the private organisers.

I know the previous attendances @ some of the matches have been pretty frightening, so the reward(moneywise) must be somthing special for teams to persevere???

The 1st and maybe 2nd running of this competition were fairly exciting but it seems to have died the death since those days.
That said,Dundalk V Linfield would be a huge attraction.:D

The participation Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers in the Setanta Cup will/would be a proper 'litmus' test for an All-Ireland league going forward! No offence to previous participants but....

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Originally Posted by The Lep

so will the cup place go to the 5th place if the cup winners have already qualified through the league and take the cup spot and the bye to the quarters with it?

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League Cup runners-up don't qualify. That was clarified when we were last in the final. (This was basically to give Shels a better chance of qualifying for the Setanta the year we beat them hilariously in the semi-finals).

So it looks like the six will be the current top six in the league. I suppose we're next in line at the moment if Bohs don't make it to February.

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

The participation Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers in the Setanta Cup will/would be a proper 'litmus' test for an All-Ireland league going forward! No offence to previous participants but....

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:confused:

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

The participation Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers in the Setanta Cup will/would be a proper 'litmus' test for an All-Ireland league going forward! No offence to previous participants but....

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No offence? Wrong choice of words there I think!

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

League Cup runners-up don't qualify. That was clarified when we were last in the final. (This was basically to give Shels a better chance of qualifying for the Setanta the year we beat them hilariously in the semi-finals).

So it looks like the six will be the current top six in the league. I suppose we're next in line at the moment if Bohs don't make it to February.

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I didnt mention the league cup, its the Fai cup i was on about.

Oh yeah. You mentioned the league and the Cup, which is where I got confused...

Still think it'll be top six in the league though, given the last four in the Cup are all in the top six anyway.

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

The participation Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers in the Setanta Cup will/would be a proper 'litmus' test for an All-Ireland league going forward! No offence to previous participants but....

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Meaning from the point of view of security/crowd safety issues at cross-border matches. - it's a fair point, but not to be laboured; there have been plenty of cross border games in the last decade with minimal problems, (including Derry City games in the Setanta Comp, which have been well run. & yes I know Derry don't have to cross the border to play in Belfast, but you still understand my point).

Our club announced earlier in the year that it had been confirmed that we'd be in the Setanta Cup next year. Any other Dundalk fans remember that?

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

The participation Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers in the Setanta Cup will/would be a proper 'litmus' test for an All-Ireland league going forward! No offence to previous participants but....

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Hows that then ? We played linfield several times in utd pk and there wasnt one bit of trouble , same goes for glentoran , portadown etc .The only hint of grief was when we played cliftonville and that was in the pub before hand . All the games against linfield and glentoran where full houses and where great occasions . Sure there where a few idiots waving tricolours and wearing celtic jersies but no trouble . Serious amounts of cops about but the atmosphere was great around town in the pubs and in the ground .

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Originally Posted by holidaysong

Our club announced earlier in the year that it had been confirmed that we'd be in the Setanta Cup next year. Any other Dundalk fans remember that?

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Think ou were very premature with that. Everything I've heard lead me to belief tht 2010 was the qualifying year

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

The participation Dundalk FC and Shamrock Rovers in the Setanta Cup will/would be a proper 'litmus' test for an All-Ireland league going forward! No offence to previous participants but....

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Your kinda right but you used the wrong words.


Can the Police handle the scum seansouth hooligans of both teams vs proddy nordie *******s....dey tuk our counties!!!!!

That would have sufficed rather than using participation and litmus.

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Originally Posted by Dodge

6th team is a special invite for the organisers incase the holders or Pats don't qualify.

Sure they even cancelled it the year we were gick

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Hmmmmmm and to think people accuse Bohs fans of "delusions of grandeur" :rolleyes:

Yes, plenty did. We were correct in doing so.

Do I need to put a smilie on everything for you?

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Yes, plenty did. We were correct in doing so.

Do I need to put a smilie on everything for you?

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yes, Dodge smilie might help or simply revert to "delusions of adequacy"? :D

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Think ou were very premature with that. Everything I've heard lead me to belief tht 2010 was the qualifying year

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It has been reconfirmed on OrielWeb that we've qualified due to our 2009 league placing.

By someome official? Fair play. Did they mention anythin about the other spots?

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Originally Posted by Dodge

By someome official? Fair play. Did they mention anythin about the other spots?

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This is what was posted by the club's communications officer:

"We are confirmed as participants in the Setanta Cup based on league places from 2009

Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Sporting Fingal are also confirmed for the Tournament which commences in February 2011.

There will be two additional places available based on performances this season on the following ranking:


1). 2010 Airtricity Premier Division League champions.
2). 2010 FAI Ford Cup winners (or the runners-up if the same Club wins both the Premier Division League and the FAI Ford Cup).
3). 2010 Airtricity Premier Division League runners-up.
4). 2010 EA SPORTS Cup winners.
5). 2010 Airtricity Premier Division League third placed Club.

It is not clear whether they will go further down the league places to fill the spots if the above ranking does not provide the extra two teams. Sligo Rovers appear to be fairly certain of a place and St Patricks Ath likely to complete the list."

Obviously I'm not saying this becase Dundalk are involved (and they'd qualify from this year too) but its a bit weird that clubs qualify for a tournament starting in February 2011, in October 2009.

Doesn't really make a difference this year as its likely that the top 6 are to qualify

If st pats don't make it, technically we still could as runners up in EA. Am I right in that?

Runners-up in the League Cup get nothing. We got nothing in 2005 when we lost to Derry.

I think it is due to the change in the timing of the tournament. Rather than a 2010-11 competition and spanning two LOI seasons, it will now take place within one LOI season.

They must have decided that it would be unfair on clubs to ignore the 2009 league placings. However, no matter what way they do it, it will be unfair on someone.

I hope that the involvement of a border club will be good for the competition. Dundalk is now only 50 minutes from Belfast, so it may entice more northern fans to travel. Dundalk fans will certainly travel to away fixtures.

Just so UCD don't feel further persecuted, Wexford and Waterford didn't get an invite either.

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Originally Posted by White Horse

Dundalk is now only 50 minutes from Belfast, so it may entice more northern fans to travel. Dundalk fans will certainly travel to away fixtures.

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Northern fans have travelled in great numbers. Or at least Glentoran and Linfield fans have

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Obviously I'm not saying this becase Dundalk are involved (and they'd qualify from this year too) but its a bit weird that clubs qualify for a tournament starting in February 2011, in October 2009.

Doesn't really make a difference this year as its likely that the top 6 are to qualify

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My reading into it is that the four clubs that would have qualified for the 2010 edition of the tournament were guaranteed their spot and this wasn't taken away from them despite the competition being postponed.

It doesn't seem that weird that the clubs that qualified in 2009 should have their spots reserved when the 2010 competition was cancelled due to factors beyond their control.

With the decision to expand to 6 teams from each league, two more clubs were then able to qualify through 2010 results.

It's fair enough that teams that had qualified for 2010 are included. Moving forward, I hope the 2011 League of Ireland is used for the 2012 SSC.