Emerald Futsal League Explained

Founded:2008
Levels:1

The Emerald Futsal League was a futsal league featuring teams based in the Republic of Ireland. It was initially planned that the league would develop into a full national league. However the vast majority of its member clubs are based in the Greater Dublin Area. It is effectively a provincial league and, as a result, is also referred to as the Emerald Futsal League (Leinster). The league was introduced in 2008 and the inaugural winners were Brasilforall. Teams from the league cannot automatically qualify for the UEFA Futsal Cup but can qualify by winning the FAI Futsal Cup.

Since the league disbanded, the AUL Futsal Premier League became the top tier of Irish futsal.

History

The Emerald Futsal League was founded in 2008 as a joint partnership project involving four organisations – the Futsal Association of Ireland, Futsal Ireland, Sport Against Racism Ireland and Dublin City Council. The league kicked off on 2 November 2008 with three games played at the Ballyfermot Leisure Centre. The participants included Brasilforall, Polish Eagles, Futsamba, Perestroika, English in Dublin and Dublin Futsal.[1] The inaugural champions were Brasilforall who were subsequently taken over by St Patrick's Athletic.[2] [3] [4] The 2009 Emerald Futsal League kicked off on 25 June 2009 with four games played at the BRL Umbro Arena, Ballymun. Dublin Santos played Shamrock Rovers in the first game. Other members this season included Sporting Fingal, St Patrick's Athletic, Bray/St Joseph's, Alpha United, ISL Futsal and North County Dublin.[5] In October 2009 Shamrock Rovers won the second Emerald Futsal League title after a 7–4 win in the final against Bray/St Joseph's.[6] Since 2010 Emerald Futsal League teams have competed in the FAI Futsal Cup.[7] [8] Emerald Futsal League teams can also qualify to compete in the UEFA Futsal Cup after winning the FAI Futsal Cup. Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic qualified for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 tournaments before the Emerald Futsal League started. Playing under various names including, Sporting Fingal EID, EID Futsal and Eden College, Eden Futsal Club qualified for the UEFA Futsal Cup on five consecutive occasions between 2010–11 and 2014–15.[9] [10] [11] [12] Blue Magic Futsal qualified for the 2015–16 and 2016–17 tournaments.[13] [14]

Format

The league consists of a regular league season plus a series of play-off matches to decide the eventual champions.[15]

Teams

Previous seasons

TeamHome city/suburbCourt
Academic Futsal Club
Alpha Futsal
AUL Futsal
B&H United Futsal
Blue Magic FutsalClondalkinCollinstown Park Community College
Bray/St Joseph'sBray/Sallynoggin
Brasilforall
Clonskeagh FutsalClonskeagh
Clontarf Athletic
Crumlin, Dublin
DiaEuro FutsalDublinNational Sports Campus
Eden Futsal ClubBlanchardstownIT Blanchardstown
FC Guillermo Futsal
5th Infantry BattalionCabra, DublinMcKee Barracks
ISL Futsal
Lifford
Newton Heath FutsalClondalkinCollinstown Park Community College
North County Dublin
Polish Eagles Dublin
Puskas & Hagi Futsal Dublin
Rivervalley RangersDonabate
SARSI Futsal Club
Shamrock RoversTallaghtNational Basketball Arena
Saints & Scholars Futsal
St Ita's Futsal Donabate/PortraneDonabate and Portrane Community and Leisure Centre
St Patrick's Athletic
St Vincent's Deaf
Street Leagues
Transylvania FutsalIT Blanchardstown
Wicklow Futsal Club

Winners

SeasonWinnerScoreRunner-UpVenue
2008Brasilforall
2009Shamrock Rovers7–4Bray/St Joseph's
2010Shamrock RoversDublin Santos [16]
2011EID Futsal3–1 Shamrock Rovers
2012
2013
2013–14Eden[17] 6–5Transylvania National Basketball Arena[18]
2014–15Transylvania [19] [20] 5–3Blue Magic [21] National Basketball Arena[22]
2015–16
2016–17

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Emerald Futsal league Kicks Off. www.futsalplanet.com. 2 January 2017. 4 November 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094035/http://www.futsalplanet.com/news/news-01.asp?id=9839. 3 January 2017. dead.
  2. Web site: FAI National Futsal League week one. www.futsalplanet.com. 2 January 2017. 13 February 2009.
  3. Web site: FAI Futsal League of Ireland begins this weekend. www.futsalplanet.com. 2 January 2017. 5 February 2009.
  4. Web site: Futsal To Kick-off This Weekend. www.stpatsfc.com. 2 January 2017. 4 February 2009.
  5. News: Emerald Futsal League off to a flyer. www.fai.ie. 16 December 2016. 25 June 2009.
  6. Web site: Rovers' Futsal team celebrate in Tallaght. www.shamrockrovers.ie. 21 December 2016. 29 October 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018010238/http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/news/latest-news/59-futsal-news/1092-rovers-futsal-team-show-trophy-to-fans. 18 October 2016.
  7. News: FAI Futsal Cup Fixtures announced today. www.fai.ie. 21 December 2016. 19 January 2010.
  8. News: Irish Futsal ready for a new season. www.futsalplanet.com. 21 December 2016. 17 January 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20161230155916/http://www.futsalplanet.com/news/news-01.asp?id=12185. 30 December 2016. dead.
  9. News: Historic progression for Irish club Futsal. www.futsalplanet.com. 29 December 2016. 2 September 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075821/http://www.futsalplanet.com/news/news-01.asp?id=13404. 31 December 2016. dead.
  10. News: Sporting Fingal UEFA Futsal Cup. www.fai.ie. 16 December 2016. 17 August 2010 .
  11. News: Sporting Fingal SC (Futsal). www.uefa.com. 16 December 2016.
  12. Web site: Eden College Futsal (Futsal). www.uefa.com. 20 December 2016. 25 May 2014.
  13. News: Irish club Blue Magic learns UEFA Futsal Cup draw. www.fai.ie. 21 December 2016. 2 July 2015.
  14. News: Blue Magic (Futsal). www.uefa.com. 21 December 2016. 5 June 2016.
  15. News: About Futsal – St. Itas Futsal. stitasfutsal.weebly.com. 20 December 2016.
  16. Web site: Emerald Futsal League (Leinster) Final. www.futsalplanet.com. 20 December 2016. 3 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075852/http://www.futsalplanet.com/news/news-01.asp?id=15500. 31 December 2016. dead.
  17. Web site: Transylvania Futsal lost 6-5 with Eden Futsal in the Emerald Futsal League Final. www.transylvaniafc.com. 30 December 2016. 5 May 2014. 31 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075027/http://www.transylvaniafc.com/transylvania-futsal-lost-6-5-with-eden-futsal-in-the-emerald-futsal-league-final/. dead.
  18. Web site: Transylvania Futsal qualified for the Final in their first season of Emerald Futsal League. www.transylvaniafc.com. 30 December 2016. 16 April 2014.
  19. Web site: EFL 14/15 Champions!. www.transylvaniafc.com. 29 December 2016. 23 March 2015.
  20. Web site: Transylvania set to represent Ireland at the 5-a-side World Cup. www.the42.ie. 21 December 2016. 19 April 2015.
  21. Web site: FAI Futsal Cup - Match 1 Review. saintsandscholarsfutsal.com. 21 December 2016. 31 March 2015.
  22. Web site: We are in the EFL Final. www.transylvaniafc.com. 29 December 2016. 23 March 2015.