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The cup is sponsored by Setanta Sports ; the first Irish Television Network . The competition was launched with Setanta providing support for prize money ( € 350,000) and sponsorship (€1.6 million over 4 years). The competition features 4 teams from each league with the winners, the top two clubs in their countries respective league, the winners of the respective major cup competitions, FAI Cup , and Irish Cup , and the winnwers of the respective secondary cup competitions, the Eircom League Cup and Northern Ireland League Cup being added. If a club has qualified via a cup win and would also quailify by league table position, one of the spots would be awarded to the next higest club in the league table that has not qualifed via a cup win. The competition is organised with two groups of four teams, semi-finals and a final. HISTORY The Setanta Cup is the first cross-border competition since the 1980s. Previous competitions included the Dublin And Belfast Intercity Cup 1941/42-1948/49, the North-South Cup 1961/62-1962/63, the Blaxnit Cup 1967/68-1973/74, the Texaco Cup 1973/74-1974/75, and the Tyler Cup 1978-1980. Previous tournaments ultimately failed due to a lack of interest and security concerns. The inaugural Cup was played between March 15th and May 21st 2005 at the start of the League of Ireland season and the end of the Irish Premier League season. 2005 Qualification for the 2005 cup was based on the national league and cup performances in the respective countries. The top two in each league and the winners of the FAI Cup and Irish Cup . Teams were split into two groups with the winner of each qualifying for the final. The 2005 competition saw Cork City , Longford and Shelbourne , represent the League of Ireland, and Glentoran , Linfield and Portadown represent the Irish League. With a large financial prize and bragging rights at stake the 2005 Cup was a very competitive and combative affair. On the field there were many controversial moments with erratic and inconsistent match official decisions adding to the already charged atmosphere. But while tempers may have flared among players and club staff, the fans themselves showed that sets of supporters from both sides of the border weren't a security risk. The eventual winners of the Cup, Linfield, started the campaign poorly losing 2:1 to Longford before going on to win their remaining group matches and beating pre-tournament favourites Shelbourne. Group 1 Group 2 Final
2006 The 2006 competition featured 4 teams from each league with the winners of the respective secondary cup competitions, the Eircom League Cup and Northern Ireland League Cup being added. The competition is organised with two groups of four teams, semi-finals and a final. For the 2006 competition the number of participating clubs was expanded from six to eight, four from each league. The League of Ireland was represented by Cork City , Derry City , Shelbourne and Drogheda United with the Irish Premier League being represented by Linfield , Glentoran , Portadown and Dungannon Swifts A total of 27 matches were played with the competition kicking off on Monday 20 February 2006 with the final having been played on Saturday 22 April 2006 at Tolka Park in Dublin . Group 1 Group 2 Semi-finals:
Final:
LAUNCH QUOTES
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