Football in the Isle of Man

Football in the Isle of Man
Country Isle of Man
Governing body Isle of Man Football Association
National team(s) Men's official national team
Ellan Vannin football team
National competitions
Isle of Man FA Cup
Isle of Man Hospital Cup
Isle of Man Railway Cup
Paul Henry Gold Cup
Captain George Woods Memorial Cup
Club competitions
Isle of Man Premier League
Isle of Man Division Two
International competitions

Football has been played in the Isle of Man since the end of the 19th century. The national association was founded in 1890[1] and oversees all aspects of association football on the island. The association is responsible for organising all national cup competitions, most notably the Isle of Man FA Cup, and the management of the Isle of Man Football League.

Although, as a Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man is not a part of the United Kingdom, the local Isle of Man football association is affiliated with the English FA, and acts as a County Football Association. Due to their affiliation with the English FA, the Isle of Man are not members of FIFA or UEFA and are therefore not eligible to enter either the World Cup or European Championship. The Isle of Man therefore is limited to different forms of competition.

League system

The Isle of Man Football League is the national football league for teams of the island. The league has two levels consisting of 13 teams each, the Premier League and Division Two. The league is organised by the Isle of Man Football Association but the winning team(s) cannot enter the UEFA Europa League or UEFA Champions League, due to the island's lack of membership.

Cup competitions

As well as the league, there are also many domestic cups in the Isle of Man:

  • Isle of Man FA Cup
  • Isle of Man Hospital Cup
  • Isle of Man Railway Cup (Premier League clubs only)
  • Paul Henry Gold Cup (Division Two clubs only)
  • Captain George Woods Memorial Cup (Division Two clubs only)

International football

Ellan Vannin football team in Debrecen, Hungary in 2015

The Isle of Man is not a member of UEFA or FIFA so the national team cannot enter the European Football Championships qualifiers or the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The island meets the criteria needed for membership to UEFA, but not much interest has ever been announced. As with the other Crown Dependencies, the Isle of Man Football Association has county status within The Football Association.

The Isle of Man official football team instead tend to play small-scale matches against other non-FIFA teams. They are also quite successful in the Island Games, winning silver on three occasions. The team play their home games at The Bowl in Douglas.

There is also an alternative national side, the Ellan Vannin football team, founded in 2013.

Clubs

See also

References

  1. ↑ Association, The Football. "ISLE OF MAN FA | IsleofmanFA". www.isleofmanfa.com. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
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