The Ulster Cup was an annual football competition held by the

Irish Football League Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for senior clubs.

History

Beginning in 1949, it was held on fifty-one occasions until being suspended after the 1998/99 season and discontinued after a one-off re-appearance in 2002/03. The last three editions were only open to First Division sides. From the mid-1980s to the early-1990s the competition was known as the Lombard Ulster Cup due to a sponsorship deal with the Lombard & Ulster Bank. It had previously been sponsored by Morans.

Format

The format of the Ulster Cup varied from season to season. It often employed a league format, with each club playing each other once and the winner declared as the team with the most points; and sometimes a group basis, with the winners decided by a play-off. The format over the years was as follows:

Finals results

Winners of the Ulster Cup by season."Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Soccer Yearbook 1999/2000" Ed. Dr. Malcolm Brodie MBE Key:

Performance by club

Senior

First Division only

Notes

References

External links

Ulster Cup Archive at the Irish Football Club Project
{{Association football cup competitions in Ireland Defunct association football cup competitions in Northern Ireland