Emerald Futsal League
Football league
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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 were based in the Greater Dublin Area. It was effectively a provincial league and, as a result, was 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 did not automatically qualify for the UEFA Futsal Cup but could qualify by winning the FAI Futsal Cup. Since the Emerald Futsal League disbanded,[when?] the AUL Futsal Premier League became the top tier of Irish futsal.
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Ireland |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup | FAI Futsal Cup |
| International cup | UEFA Futsal Cup |
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 consisted of a regular league season plus a series of play-off matches to decide the eventual champions.[15]
Teams
2014–15 season
As of 2016:[16][needs update]
| 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 |
Previous seasons
| 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
| 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 | ||||