The FA Inter-League Cup (formerly known as the FA National League System Cup or FA NLS Cup) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition run by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

. It was created in the 2003–04 season to provide an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

representative in the

UEFA Regions' Cup The UEFA Regions' Cup is a football competition for amateur teams in Europe, run by UEFA. It was held for the first time in 1999 and has been played biennially since. The 2019 champions are the Lower Silesia team from Poland. The competition was ...

History

In previous Regions' Cups, the FA had nominated a team to take part; in the 2002–03 season it was a

Kent County League The Kent County League is a football competition based in Kent, England. The league has seven senior divisions – a Premier Division, Division One East and West, Division Two East and West and Division Three East and West. It sits below the So ...

XI. UEFA decreed that in the future all Regions' Cup entrants must have won a national competition, and so the NLS Cup was formed. The cup is contested by representative sides from leagues at Step 7 of the

National League System The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a h ...

, with a few other leagues permitted by the FA. That is roughly at the county level or eleventh overall tier of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

. The first final was held on 8 May 2004, and was won by the

Mid Cheshire League The Cheshire Association Football League is a football competition based in Cheshire, England, which until 2007 was known as the Mid-Cheshire Association Football League. From season 2017–18, the league operates four divisions: the Premier ...

, who beat the

Cambridgeshire County League The Cambridgeshire County Football League, currently styled as the Cambridgeshire Fire Places Cambridgeshire County League for sponsorship purposes, is a football competition covering Cambridgeshire and western parts of Suffolk, Norfolk and no ...

2–0. The second final was held on 7 May 2006 at Cambridge United's

Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a association football, football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum Seating capacity, capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional Coll ...

, and saw the Cambridgeshire County League and

Isle of Man Football League The Isle of Man Football League is the senior football league on the Isle of Man and is run by the Isle of Man Football Association. Although the league is affiliated with The Football Association, it does not form a part of the English football ...

compete. The Isle of Man comfortably won the fixture with four goals in the second half and claimed the trophy with a final score of 4–0. The team travelled to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in April 2007 for the Intermediary Round of the

. After a 1–2 defeat to the

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

team (

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) a 3–2 win over the hosting

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

team left the side with a chance of qualifying for the finals. Unfortunately a 0–1 loss to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

's Eastern Region ended their hopes. The 2008 final was held at

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

Ricoh Arena The Coventry Building Society Arena (often shortened to the CBS Arena or just simply Coventry Arena, and formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is a complex in Coventry, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to footb ...

on Saturday 3 May. The

Southern Amateur League The Southern Amateur League (SAL) is an association football league in England affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance (AFA). It is based in and around Greater London and caters for 11–a–side men's adult teams. A feature of the league i ...

won the competition at the first attempt after winning a penalty shoot-out 4–2 following a 1–1 draw. The SAL team travelled to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

in October 2008 for the Intermediary Round of the

where they took on representatives from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. The team finished second on goal difference, having not conceded any goals in their 3 group matches. The 2010 final was held at

The Track ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Saint Sampson, Guernsey St Sampson (Guernésiais: ) is a parish of Guernsey, an island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, directly north of St Peter Port. It is on the north-west and north-east coasts of the island and is split into two sections, intersected by Vale. The pa ...

on 1 May 2010. The home side, the Guernsey Senior County League, defeated the

Liverpool County Premier League The Liverpool County Premier League is a football competition based in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 2006 as a merger of the Liverpool County Football Combination and the I Zingari League. The league has three divisions, the Premier Div ...

5–2. It was announced in November 2010 that the competition would be renamed from the "FA National League System Cup" to its present name. The 2018 final was between

York Football League The York Football League is a football competition based in North Yorkshire, England, founded in 1897. Currently it is known under the terms of a sponsorship agreement as the ''York Minster Engineering Football League''. It is a member of the ...

and

North Riding Football League The North Riding Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2017 by the merger of the former Teesside Football League and Eskvale & Cleveland League. The league has four divisions – the Premier Division (which stand ...

on Sunday 6 May at the home of Sheffield United -

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

. North Riding Football League won 4-2.

Finals

† – After penalties ‡ – After

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

References

External links

The FA National League System Cup at the FA website
{{Football in England Football cup competitions in England UEFA Regions' Cup

History

Finals

See also

References

External links