The FAI Intermediate Cup (), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the

Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...

for intermediate association football clubs from the Republic of Ireland. These include clubs competing in the Leinster Senior League and the Munster Senior League. It was originally known as the FAI Qualifying Cup and from the beginning it has been used as a qualifying competition for the senior

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 ...

. It is currently sponsored by

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...

and has previously been sponsored by

Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...

History

FAI Qualifying Cup

The competition was originally known as the FAI Qualifying Cup before it was renamed the FAI Intermediate Cup at the start of the 1931–32 season. The cup's first winners were Drumcondra who beat Cobh Ramblers in the inaugural 1926–27 final. Drumcondra, who at the time were playing in the Leinster Senior League, subsequently went onto complete a cup double when they defeated Brideville 1–0 in the 1926–27 FAI Cup final. The competition continues to act a qualifying competition for the

with clubs who reach the Round of Sixteen being invited to compete in the senior cup.

League of Ireland

In addition to being the inaugural winners, Drumcondra were also the first of several future

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

clubs to win the FAI Intermediate Cup. Cork Bohemians,

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 ...

, Longford Town, UCD, Cobh Ramblers, St Patricks Athletic, Albert Rovers,

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

, Home Farm and Cork Hibernians, playing as AOH, all subsequently won the cup before joining the national league. Athlone Town were also finalists on one occasion. Jacobs,

St. James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, Dublin, James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrima ...

and

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

all won the cup after leaving the League of Ireland. With five wins, Longford Town were the competitions most successful club until Bluebell United equalled their record in 1999–2000 and Avondale United surpassed it in 2013–14. The

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

s of League of Ireland clubs have also won the cup on several occasions. These include Bohemians, Shelbourne, Drumcondra and St Patrick's Athletic. Limerick B and UCD Reserves were also runners up.

2000s and 2010s

During the 2000s and 2010s Avondale United and Crumlin United have been the cup's most successful clubs. In 2013–14 Avondale United became only the second club after

Distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

to win the cup four times in a row. In 2012 the FAI introduced a new cup, the Tom Hand Memorial Cup, which saw the winners of the FAI Intermediate Cup play off against the winners of the FAI Junior Cup. Avondale United won the inaugural match, defeating

Sheriff Y.C. Sheriff Youth Club is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Sheriff Street, Dublin. Their senior team plays in the Athletic Union League (Dublin), Athletic Union League. They ha ...

2–1 at the AUL Complex. In 2014 it was announced that future finals would be hosted at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

. The 2014–15 and 2015–16 finals were both played as double headers along with the FAI Junior Cup finals.

Finals

List of winners by club

References

{{Football in Ireland 3 2 1926 establishments in Ireland