Football crosses Irish border

Six-team competition
Called the Setanta Cup after sponsorship from a broadcaster, the top six teams in Ireland, three from each side of the border, will enter and contest a trophy with a prize fund of €1.3m over four years. The top two teams in each league and the two domestic cup winners will compete in a move which has been welcomed across Ireland.

Prevoius tournament
There was an all-Ireland competition, the Blaxnit Cup, held in the 1960s and 1970s but violence because of the political situation in Ireland saw it abandoned in 1979. The new tournament will be made up of two groups of three teams - including at least one from both associations - playing their pool rivals home and away. Each group winner will then qualify for the final.

Cross-border talks
FAI chief executive Fran Rooney said: "Over the years, I was very much a fan of the Blaxnit Cup and thought it would great if we could bring something like it back. I set it as an objective as soon as I came into the association as chief executive. In December, I spoke to Jim Boyce, the president of the Irish Football Association and he was interested and since then myself, Jim and Milo [Corcoran, FAI president] have regularly spoken about it.

Positive reaction
He added: "We then needed to attract a sponsor and needed television. We felt that Setanta were the obvious first port of call and they were very interested from the start and we concluded a deal. We probably had everything in place three months ago and just needed to put the finishing touches to it. I revealed we were doing it at the AGM and spoke to all 22 clubs about it who were very positive."

Fixture review
To ease worries about fixture congestion, Rooney revealed: "There will be more games for the top clubs but I have already set up a review group to examine how we can plan out the fixture list to accommodate teams involved in Europe, the domestic league and cup and now the Setanta Cup. I do not see it as a problem. I think TV coverage is vital if we are to promote the game. The standard in the domestic league is very high and by getting it on television, it will reach a far greater audience."

'Huge crowds'
Boyce added: "This certainly is the biggest ever tournament - north or south - it has attracted great sponsorship and I am confident that huge crowds will flock to see these games."