Republic of Ireland national futsal team explained

Republic of Ireland
Badge Size:130px
Nickname:The Boys in Green
Coach:Derek O'Neill
Asst Manager:Stephen Finn
Gleudson Junior Da Silva
Home Stadium:National Basketball Arena
Amf Trigramme:IRL
Amf Rank:Unranked
Fifa Trigramme:IRL
Uefs Rank:14 [1]
Fifa Rank:Unranked [2]
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First Game: 4–1
(Rome, Italy; 16 July 1983)
Largest Win: 7–2
(Rome, Italy; 18 July 1983)
Largest Loss: 2–8
(Jyväskylä, Finland; 14 December 2010)
World Cup Apps:0
Regional Name:UEFA Futsal Championship
Regional Cup Apps:0

The Republic of Ireland national futsal team has represented the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Futsal Championship. The Republic of Ireland has, to date, never qualified for the final stages of a major tournament. It has, however, taken part in several invitational tournaments, such as the 2008 Four Nations Futsal Cup. It is organised by the Football Association of Ireland.

History

Early years

The Republic of Ireland national futsal team have been active since at least 1983. In July 1983, in Rome, they competed in a six team nations tournament. After defeating Belgium and losing to Czechoslovakia in the group stage, the Republic of Ireland defeated England 7–2 in a third/fourth place play-off. The other participants included Scotland and the eventual winners, Italy.[3] In June 2001 they played a series of friendlies against Scotland and in February 2002 they hosted the Masita Cup tournament at St Columba's College, Dublin. Other participants in this tournament included Scotland, Northern Ireland and Tranmere Victoria, a club side that represented England. In October 2002 they also competed in the British Isles Nations Futsal Cup in Chester. The other participants in this competition included Tranmere Victoria, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. During this latter tournament the team was managed by Derek O'Neill, the FAI's futsal co-ordinator, and coached by Stephen Finn.[4] [5] [6]

Revival

In 2007 the national team was revived, initially playing as an U21 team and selecting players from the Eircom U21 Futsal League. In December 2007 a Republic of Ireland U21 squad featuring Dane Massey, Gary McCabe and Ciarán Kilduff travelled to Portugal and played two friendlies against Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.[7] [8] [9] In April 2008 the Republic of Ireland U21s also competed in the UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship, travelling to Andorra la Vella to compete in a qualifying tournament against Andorra, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan. The squad again included Dane Massey. In preparation for the tournament the team played a friendly against an FC Barcelona B team, defeating them 2–0. In the tournament itself, the Republic of Ireland defeated Azerbaijan 4–3 and finished third.[10] [11] [12]

In December 2008 the senior team was revived with two friendlies against Hungary. The squad included Thomas Morgan, Gary McCabe and Dane Massey.[13] In the first game, which was screened live on Hungarian television, the Republic lost 4–1.[14] Later in the same month, together with Lithuania, Libya and England, the Republic of Ireland also competed in the 2008 Four Nations Futsal Cup. The Republic, with a squad that included Dane Massey and Thomas Morgan, held England to a 3–3 draw.[15] [16] [17]

UEFA Futsal Championship

The Republic of Ireland has competed in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Futsal Championship twice during the 2010s.[18] In February 2009 with a squad that included Thomas Morgan, Gary McCabe and Dane Massey, the Republic of Ireland played against Cyprus, England and Kazakhstan in a 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship preliminary group qualifying tournament. The Republic of Ireland also acted as hosts and all six group games were played at the National Basketball Arena. The Republic lost to both Cyprus and Kazakhstan, either side of a 2–0 win against England.[19] [20] [21] The Republic's scorers against England were Lloyd Massey, the brother of Dane, and Philip McDonagh.[22] In January 2011 the Republic of Ireland played against Andorra, Norway and Israel in a UEFA Futsal Euro 2012 preliminary group qualifying tournament. This tournament saw the Massey brothers, Dane and Lloyd, take part together in a third UEFA Futsal qualifying tournament. Once again the Republic of Ireland acted as hosts and all six group games were again played at the National Basketball Arena. On this occasion the Republic of Ireland lost all three of their games.[23] [24] [25] [26]

DiaEuro Futsal

In recent times, the Republic of Ireland have been represented by the DiaEuro futsal squad; the national team for players with diabetes. The team was founded by Cathal Fleming in 2018 and have gone on to represent the nation at the 2019 DiaEuro futsal championships in Kiev.[27]

Record
UEFA Futsal Championship
width=25%Yearwidth=25%Roundwidth=8%Pldwidth=8%Wwidth=8%Dwidth=8%Lwidth=8%GSwidth=8%GA
1996did not enter------
1999did not enter------
2001did not enter------
2003did not enter------
2005did not enter------
2007did not enter------
2010Preliminary round310227
2012Preliminary round3003110
2014did not enter------
2016did not enter------
2018did not enter------
2022did not enter------
2026TBD------
Total0/13------

Last qualifying campaign

UEFA Futsal Euro 2012

See main article: article and UEFA Futsal Euro 2012 qualifying.

Group F – Final table
width=175Teamwidth=20Pldwidth=20Wwidth=20Dwidth=20Lwidth=20GFwidth=20GAwidth=20GDwidth=20Pts
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style=text-align:left;3102711−43
style=text-align:left; Republic of Ireland3003110−90
Matches

Notable players

2011 squad

The squad selected for the UEFA Futsal Euro 2012 qualifying tournament in January 2011

League of Ireland Premier Division players

Results and fixtures

See main article: article and List of Republic of Ireland national futsal team matches.

Notes and References

  1. [UEFS Futsal Men's Championship| ]
  2. Web site: Futsal World Ranking. www.futsalworldranking.com. 12 May 2020.
  3. Web site: "4 NATIONS CUP" Matches List. www.futsalplanet.com. 19 January 2017.
  4. Web site: Scottish Futsal League – Scottish Amateur FA Futsal Select team. www.uefa.com. 20 January 2017.
  5. Web site: Futsal/Indoor Soccer World News. www.futsalplanet.com. 20 January 2017. 2 January 2002.
  6. Web site: British Isles Nations Futsal Cup 2002. www.futsalplanet.com. 15 January 2017. 20 October 2002.
  7. Web site: Irish Under 21 Futsal Squad Announced for Friendlies against Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. www.futsalplanet.com. 16 January 2017. 16 November 2007.
  8. News: Stephen Finn. ie.linkedin.com. 14 January 2017.
  9. Web site: Squad for historic Futsal match announced. www.futsalplanet.com. 14 January 2017. 13 November 2008.
  10. Web site: Republic of Ireland Under-21 Futsal squad announced. www.futsalplanet.com. 16 January 2017. 27 March 2008.
  11. Web site: UEFA Under 21 Futsal Tournament. www.futsalplanet.com. 16 January 2017. 13 April 2008.
  12. Web site: European U-21 Futsal Tournament 2008. RSSSF. 15 January 2017.
  13. Web site: Squad for historic Futsal match announced. www.futsalplanet.com. 14 January 2017. 13 November 2008.
  14. Web site: Impressive Ireland make Futsal Senior Debut. www.futsalplanet.com. 17 January 2017. 3 December 2008.
  15. News: Stephen Finn. ie.linkedin.com. 14 January 2017.
  16. Web site: Republic ready for futsal challenge. www.rte.ie. 14 January 2017. 15 December 2008.
  17. Web site: 4 Nations Cup - Loughborough 2008. www.futsalplanet.com. 17 January 2017. 30 September 2008.
  18. Web site: Republic of Ireland - Futsal. www.uefa.com. 15 January 2017.
  19. Web site: Ireland Futsal Squad Announced. www.shamrockrovers.ie. 14 January 2017. 5 February 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018212754/http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/news/latest-news/3-pressrelease/491-ireland-futsal-squad-announced. 18 October 2016. dmy-all.
  20. Web site: European Futsal Championship 2010. RSSSF. 15 January 2017.
  21. Web site: 6th UEFA Futsal Championship - Hungary 2010. www.futsalplanet.com. 17 January 2017. 10 September 2008.
  22. Web site: England suffer 2-0 loss at hands of stunning Irish futsal display. www.futsalplanet.com. 19 January 2017. 20 February 2009.
  23. Web site: O’Neill names Futsal squad for UEFA qualifiers. www.fai.ie. 15 January 2017. 12 January 2011.
  24. Web site: European Futsal Championship 2012. RSSSF. 15 January 2017.
  25. Web site: Fingal futsal inspires Ireland. www.uefa.com. 15 January 2017. 18 January 2011.
  26. Web site: UEFA Futsal Championship - Croatia 2012 Qualifiers. www.futsalplanet.com. 18 January 2017. 24 January 2011.
  27. Web site: Doggett. Eamon. 2019-04-29. Ireland to have first team competing in European championships for diabetics. 2020-06-11. irishmirror.

    New Era

    In the Summer of 2020, Ireland Futsal Union was launched as the governing body for AMF futsal in Ireland. The body aims to be the sole governing body of Futsal in Republic of Ireland. This will be done by promoting the Ireland Futsal Union Cup as the main competition. The winners of the IFU cup will book their place in the FEF Champions cup. Irish national players will also be selected from the IFU cup.