Although the sport was being played in Ireland in the 1860s, it was mainly based in
Ulster and it was not until the 1880s that the game spread to other areas of the country. The
Leinster Football Association was formed in 1892 as the game became more popular in the area. Clubs from outside the
Belfast area thought that the
IFA favoured Ulster based clubs and when the IFA reneged on a promise to play the
Irish Cup semi-final replay in
Dublin and instead scheduled the match for Belfast a meeting of southern associations and clubs was arranged and on 1 June 1921, the
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was formed in Molesworth Hall in
Dublin. The
League of Ireland was established in 1921, with eight teams taking part.
St. James's Gate F.C. won the first title, and they were also winners of the first
FAI Cup, then called the Free State Cup, in 1922. In 1923, the FAI was recognised by
FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State under the name Football Association of the Irish Free State (FAIFS) and at the
1924 Olympics, the Irish Free State made their international debut. On 28 May at the
Stade Olympique, they beat
Bulgaria 1–0, with
Paddy Duncan scoring the team's first ever goal. As a result of this they qualified for the quarter-finals. On 14 June 1924, the Irish Free State made their home debut against the
United States, who had embarked on a brief European tour after competing in the same Olympics.
Ed Brookes scored a
hat-trick in a 3–1 home win at
Dalymount Park. The Irish Free State did not play their next game until 21 March 1926. This was an away game against
Italy which they lost 3–0. In subsequent years the status of the Olympic Games football competition was downgraded and as a result this game is widely regarded as the Irish Free State's first official game. The 1930s saw the erosion of
Dublin's dominance in the league. During the 20s,
Bohemians,
St James's Gate,
Shelbourne and
Shamrock Rovers had a monopoly over the domestic game, but
Dundalk and
Sligo Rovers both won championships while
Cork F.C. and
Waterford collected FAI Cups as football spread to the provinces. The Second World War curtailed international matches between 1939 and 1946, but league football went ahead with
Cork United F.C. dominating, winning four titles between 1940 and 1945. On the international front,
England won a match at Dalymount Park 1–0, but Ireland got their revenge three years later when they became the first 'foreign' side to defeat England on English soil. Ireland won the
Goodison Park encounter
2–0. In 1953,
FIFA directed both the
FAI and
IFA to pick players only from within their own boundaries rather than picking players from all over the island. FIFA also ruled that the FAI's team would be known as the
Republic of Ireland with the IFA's side being called
Northern Ireland. Up to that point, both Associations referred to their teams as 'Ireland'. The
Dublin based clubs reasserted their dominance with only
Cork United capable of challenging their dominance. 1958 saw a
League of Ireland side enter
European competition for the first time with Shamrock Rovers going out 9–2 on aggregate to
Manchester United in the first round of the
European Cup. In the 1960s
Waterford United became one of the league's most successful clubs as they won three titles during the decade, though
Shamrock Rovers were the team of the 60s. The Hoops won six
FAI Cups in a row during the 60s, a feat that has never been repeated. In 1969 the
FAI decided to appoint a national team manager instead of a team of selectors.
Mick Meagan became the first manager. They still failed to win any of their qualifiers for the
1970 World Cup. Ireland finished bottom of their qualification group for the
1972 European Championship, ending Meagan's tenure as manager.
Liam Tuohy briefly replaced him.
Johnny Giles became the Republic of Ireland's first ever player-manager before the
1976 European Championship qualifiers, but the side again failed to qualify. During the qualifiers for the
1980 European Championship, the Republic of Ireland took on Northern Ireland in a historic first ever meeting between the two sides. A 0–0 draw at
Dalymount Park was marred by rioting in
Dublin on the day of the match. Domestically, no team really dominated as the popularity of the game began to diminish. The major achievement was
Dundalk's progress to the last 16 of the
European Cup in 1979 when they eventually went out to
Glasgow Celtic. The domestic game went from bad to worse during the 1980s with clubs all over the country struggling for finance. Shamrock Rovers were forced out of their home,
Glenmalure Park, while
St Patrick's Athletic were forced to move out of
Richmond Park towards the end of the decade although they subsequently returned in 1993. On the field, Shamrock Rovers were again the team to beat as they won four consecutive titles, though provincial clubs
Athlone,
Dundalk and
Derry City also claimed titles. The 1990s saw an improvement in the game domestically. Facilities countrywide improved, as did the standard of football. Shelbourne and St Patrick's Athletic dominated the decade, winning four league titles between them, with Shelbourne also winning three
FAI Cups. The national game received a huge boost when the Republic, under
Jack Charlton, qualified for the
1988 European Championship—their first ever major finals—where they won their first game 1–0 against
England. This was followed by qualification for the
World Cup in
1990,
1994 (where they beat
Italy) and
2002. The
Saipan incident, over the facilities and preparation for the 2002 World Cup, had far-reaching effects on the sport in Ireland. Team captain
Roy Keane went home (or was sent home) before the start of the tournament after a public quarrel with manager
Mick McCarthy. The FAI commissioned a report from external consultants Genesis, into its World Cup preparations. The "Genesis Report" agreed with many of Keane's criticisms, finding that the FAI structure was not conducive to good planning, made a range of recommendations. Brendan Menton resigned as FAI General Secretary, and the media linked the two events, though Menton denied this. A second Genesis report, this time produced by the FAI but disingenuously called "Genesis II" (or the "White Paper"), in 2005 recommended a radical overhaul of the
League of Ireland and led to the appointment of an assessment group. A joint implementation committee made major changes to the league, including merging the league with the FAI, changing the management structure and revamping the league structure. The League of Ireland entered its best ever era in the 2000s when
Bohemians knocked
Aberdeen out of the
UEFA Cup and beat
Kaiserslautern of Germany in the next round. A brief period of mixed results turned for the better in 2004. Shelbourne became the first team to get to the third qualifying round of the
Champions League, where they knocked out by Spanish club
Deportivo La Coruña 3–0 on aggregate. However, the league continued in improving results and thanks in part to
Cork City making progress in the Champions League qualifiers, and
Derry City beating
IFK Gothenburg and
Gretna in the UEFA Cup before falling in the final tie before the group stage. In 2008, it got its second best co-efficient in its history. The League of Ireland in 2007 was won by
Drogheda United—their first ever league championship. The league entered difficult times along with the Irish economy during 2008 and 2009. In 2011 the League got the best co-efficient in its history as
Shamrock Rovers made history by becoming the first Irish club to reach the group stages of the Europa League . It is currently ranked as the 31st best league in Europe out of 53. The league has scored at least 1.000 in every year since 2003, meaning it is currently in its best European cycle to date. The Republic of Ireland,
Scotland and
Wales jointly bid to co-host
UEFA Euro 2020. ==League system==