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.
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Ireland |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | FAI Futsal Cup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Futsal Cup |
Since the league disbanded, the AUL Futsal Premier League became the top tier of Irish futsal.
History
editThe 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
editThe league consists of a regular league season plus a series of play-off matches to decide the eventual champions.[15]
Teams
edit2014–15 season
edit| Team | Home city/suburb | Court |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Futsal | Dublin | |
| B&H United Futsal | Dublin | |
| Blue Magic Futsal | Clondalkin | Collinstown Park Community College |
| Crumlin United Futsal | Crumlin, Dublin | |
| Puskas & Hagi Futsal | Dublin | |
| St Ita's Futsal | Donabate/Portrane | Donabate and Portrane Community and Leisure Centre |
| Saints & Scholars Futsal | Whitechurch, County Dublin | St Columba's College |
| Transylvania Futsal | Blanchardstown | IT Blanchardstown |
Source:[16]
Previous seasons
edit| Team | Home city/suburb | Court |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Futsal Club | ||
| Alpha Futsal | ||
| AUL Futsal | ||
| B&H United Futsal | ||
| Blue Magic Futsal | Clondalkin | Collinstown Park Community College |
| Bray/St Joseph's | Bray/Sallynoggin | |
| Brasilforall | ||
| Clonskeagh Futsal | Clonskeagh | |
| Clontarf Athletic | Clontarf, Dublin | |
| Crumlin United Futsal | Crumlin, Dublin | |
| DiaEuro Futsal | Dublin | National Sports Campus |
| Eden Futsal Club | Blanchardstown | IT Blanchardstown |
| FC Guillermo Futsal | ||
| 5th Infantry Battalion | Cabra, Dublin | McKee Barracks |
| ISL Futsal | ||
| Lifford | ||
| Newton Heath Futsal | Clondalkin | Collinstown Park Community College |
| North County Dublin | ||
| Polish Eagles | Dublin | |
| Puskas & Hagi Futsal | Dublin | |
| Rivervalley Rangers | Donabate | |
| SARSI Futsal Club | ||
| Shamrock Rovers | Tallaght | National Basketball Arena |
| Saints & Scholars Futsal | Whitechurch, County Dublin | St Columba's College |
| St Ita's Futsal | Donabate/Portrane | Donabate and Portrane Community and Leisure Centre |
| St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| St Vincent's Deaf | ||
| Street Leagues | ||
| Transylvania Futsal | Blanchardstown | IT Blanchardstown |
| Wicklow Futsal Club |
Winners
edit| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-Up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Brasilforall | |||
| 2009 | Shamrock Rovers[6] | 7–4 | Bray/St Joseph's | BRL Umbro Arena, Ballymun |
| 2010 | Shamrock Rovers | Dublin Santos [20] | ||
| 2011 | EID Futsal[20] | 3–1 [15] | Shamrock Rovers | National Basketball Arena |
| 2012 | ||||
| 2013 | Eden College | |||
| 2013–14 | Eden[21] | 6–5 | Transylvania | National Basketball Arena[22] |
| 2014–15 | Transylvania [23][24] | 5–3 | Blue Magic [25] | National Basketball Arena[26] |
| 2015–16 | ||||
| 2016–17 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Emerald Futsal league Kicks Off". www.futsalplanet.com. 4 November 2008. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "FAI National Futsal League week one". www.futsalplanet.com. 13 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "FAI Futsal League of Ireland begins this weekend". www.futsalplanet.com. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Futsal To Kick-off This Weekend". www.stpatsfc.com. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Emerald Futsal League off to a flyer". www.fai.ie. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Rovers' Futsal team celebrate in Tallaght". www.shamrockrovers.ie. 29 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "FAI Futsal Cup Fixtures announced today". www.fai.ie. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Irish Futsal ready for a new season". www.futsalplanet.com. 17 January 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Historic progression for Irish club Futsal". www.futsalplanet.com. 2 September 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Sporting Fingal UEFA Futsal Cup". www.fai.ie. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Sporting Fingal SC (Futsal)". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Eden College Futsal (Futsal)". www.uefa.com. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Irish club Blue Magic learns UEFA Futsal Cup draw". www.fai.ie. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "Blue Magic (Futsal)". www.uefa.com. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b "About Futsal – St. Itas Futsal". stitasfutsal.weebly.com. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Emerald Futsal League". www.transylvaniafc.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Emerald Futsal League: Team List". inform.fai.ie. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ "Emerald Futsal League". www.transylvaniafc.com. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Futsal starts Monday". www.shamrockrovers.ie. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Emerald Futsal League (Leinster) Final". www.futsalplanet.com. 3 December 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Transylvania Futsal lost 6-5 with Eden Futsal in the Emerald Futsal League Final". www.transylvaniafc.com. 5 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ "Transylvania Futsal qualified for the Final in their first season of Emerald Futsal League". www.transylvaniafc.com. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ "EFL 14/15 Champions!". www.transylvaniafc.com. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Transylvania set to represent Ireland at the 5-a-side World Cup". www.the42.ie. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "FAI Futsal Cup - Match 1 Review". saintsandscholarsfutsal.com. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ "We are in the EFL Final". www.transylvaniafc.com. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ "Eden Futsal". www.futsalplanet.com. 2 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2016.