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Blaxnit Cup

Blaxnit Cup
Organising bodyIrish Football Association
Football Association of Ireland
Founded1967
Abolished1974
RegionNorthern Ireland Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland
Number of teams8
Most successful club(s)Coleraine (2 titles)

The Blaxnit Cup, is a defunct club football competition which featured teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland, in a similar format to the later Setanta Cup. It was inaugurated in 1967 as a cross-border competition between clubs from the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ireland and the Irish League from Northern Ireland and ran until 1974.[1] The competition was sponsored by Blaxnit, a sock and hosiery manufacturer based in Newtownards.

The competition featured four teams from each league. The Blaxnit Cup was the third cross-border competition. Previous competitions included the Dublin and Belfast Intercity Cup 1941/42-1948/49 and the North-South Cup 1961/62-1962/63.

After the demise of the Blaxnit Cup teams from both sides of the border continued to compete in the Texaco Cup 1973/74-1974/75, the Tyler Cup 1978-1980 and after 2005 in the Setanta Sports Cup.

The tournament suffered from lack of interest and security concerns.

List of finals

Finals played over two legs except 1973–74.

Season Winner
(number of titles)
Score Runner-up Venue
1967–68 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (1) 2 – 0 Northern Ireland Crusaders Windsor Park, Belfast
1 – 2 (3 – 2 agg.) Dalymount Park, Dublin
1968–69 Northern Ireland Coleraine (1) 2 – 1 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers Windsor Park, Belfast
2 – 2 (4 – 3 agg.) Dalymount Park, Dublin
1969–70 Northern Ireland Coleraine (2) 0 – 1 Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers Windsor Park, Belfast
4 – 1 (4 – 2 agg.) Dalymount Park, Dublin
1970–71 Northern Ireland Linfield (1) 1 – 1 Republic of Ireland Cork Hibernians Windsor Park, Belfast
2 – 1 (3 – 2 agg.) Dalymount Park, Dublin
1971–72 Republic of Ireland Cork Hibernians (1) 3 – 2 Northern Ireland Coleraine Flower Lodge, Cork
2 – 1 (5 – 3 agg.) The Showgrounds, Coleraine
1972–73 Northern Ireland Glentoran (1) 1 – 1 Republic of Ireland Cork Hibernians Flower Lodge, Cork
5 – 1 (6 – 2 agg.) Castlereagh Park, Newtownards
1973–74 Northern Ireland Ards (1) 3 – 1 Northern Ireland Ballymena United Windsor Park, Belfast

References