The 2020

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

was the 100th edition of the Republic of Ireland's primary national cup competition. This edition featured clubs exclusively from the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

and the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, whereas usually non-league teams are involved. The number of teams was reduced due to the ongoing

Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The restrictions also meant that crowds were restricted or prohibited from attending. The competition began on 10 August 2020 with the first of four rounds and concluded on 6 December 2020 with the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, a neutral venue, which has hosted the final since 2010. The Cup holders were Premier Division side

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

and they again reached the final where they were defeated 4-2 by

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

after extra-time. The winners of the FAI Cup earns automatic qualification for the

2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Rom ...

and would begin play in the first qualifying round. If they have already qualified for European competition through position in the 2020 Premier Division, the spot will go to league's fourth place finisher

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...

First round

The draw for the first round took place on 13 July 2020. Thirteen teams were drawn out to receive a bye into the second round and will join the winners of the first round matches.
Teams in bold advanced to the Second Round.

Second round

The draw for the second round took place on 12 August 2020 and was broadcast live on th
Football Association Ireland Facebook page
with

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

senior manager Stephen Kenny conducting proceedings. 6 of the 8 games from the second round will be shown live on the new streaming service WATCHLOI. Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 18 September 2020 after the league game of

vs.

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live on

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 (formerly branded as RTÉ 2 from 1978–88, Network 2 from 1988–97, N2 from 1997–2004 and RTÉ Two from 2004–14) is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched on 2 Novemb ...

. Former

winning captain Conor O'Grady drew the games.

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals took place at 6pm on 30 October 2020 live on RTE 2FM.

Final

References

2020 FAI Cup FAI Cup seasons 2020 in Irish sport 2020 in Republic of Ireland association football cups

External links

{{2020–21 in European football (UEFA)