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The League of Ireland ((アイルランド語:Sraith na hÉireann)) is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 20 clubs. There are currently two divisions: the Premier Division and the First Division. The league was governed by its members, the clubs, from its foundation until 2006, when it entered into a five-year merger with the Football Association of Ireland. In 2010, its members voted to renew the merger once the current agreement expires. The league has suffered severe financial problems in recent years due to mismanagement and overspending by its clubs. In 2007, it became the first major league in Europe to introduce a salary cap.〔 The league includes one club from Northern Ireland, Derry City. Derry City formerly played in the Irish Football League, but voluntarily left the Northern Irish league during the 1972–73 season because of safety and security concerns. Derry City joined the League of Ireland in 1985, with special dispensation from the Irish Football Association (IFA) and UEFA. They won promotion to the Premier Division in 1987. The League of Ireland is currently ranked 40th of the 54 national leagues under UEFA jurisdiction. The league's most successful club is Shamrock Rovers, with 17 League of Ireland titles won. They are one of four clubs in Ireland, with Dundalk, Bohemians and Shelbourne, to sport a golden star above their badge in recognition of winning ten titles. Bohemians are the only club with a non-broken membership of the league since its inception. St. Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians are the only clubs that have never been relegated from the League of Ireland Premier Division. The League of Ireland is classed as a ''summer league'' as its seasons begin in March and finish in November. The league is currently sponsored by SSE Airtricity and therefore officially known as the SSE Airtricity League. ==History== The ''Football League of Ireland'' was established in 1921. It was known as the 'Free State League' between 1922 and 1937. It initially consisted of eight teams from Dublin. St James's Gate were the inaugural winners of the league and the FAI Cup. The league expanded numerically and geographically during its first decade of existence, but was dominated by Dublin's three main clubs, Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians and Shelbourne. Dundalk became the first club from outside of the capital to win the league, in 1932–33. The 1930s saw another championship victory for a provincial side, with Sligo Rovers claiming their first league title in 1936–37, while Shamrock Rovers won a further three during the decade. The League of Ireland was dominated by Cork United during the 1940s. The club won five league titles between 1941 and 1946, including three in succession, but resigned from the league in 1948. The following decade was marked by the emergence of St Patrick's Athletic and the re-emergence of Shamrock Rovers. The former succeeded in winning the title at the first attempt, in 1951–52, and claimed a further two in the middle of the decade. The Coad's Colts earned Shamrock Rovers the league title for the first time in fifteen years, in 1953–54, and won two more during the latter half of the decade. Drumcondra and Dundalk claimed two League of Ireland titles each during the 1960s but Waterford secured their status as the team of the decade with four league titles, including three in succession between 1967 and 1970. Six clubs won the League of Ireland title during the 1970s with Waterford, Bohemians and Dundalk winning two titles each. Athlone Town won their two league titles at the start of the 1980s but the decade was marked by the four successive league titles won by Shamrock Rovers' ''Four in a row'' side. That team broke up following the sale of Glenmalure Park in 1987 and Dundalk and Derry City stepped in to claim the remaining titles of the decade with Derry winning the Treble in 1989, four years after entering the League of Ireland. The 1990s saw the re-emergence of St Patrick's Athletic, as the club secured 4 league championships during the decade, following years of obscurity. The turn of the millennium was marked by the first of five titles in seven years for Shelbourne, a first title in 23 years for Bohemians and the league's switch to a ''Summer Soccer'' (March–November) schedule. Cork City denied Shels' a third league title in a row when they claimed their 2nd championship in 2005, defeating fellow challengers Derry City in a last game decider at Turners Cross. The 2nd half of the decade saw the beginning of the 5-year merger with the FAI and the financial collapse of a number of league winning clubs, due to overspending and mismanagement. Shelbourne were demoted to the First Division after their title win in 2006, while Drogheda went into examinership in 2008, having won the League of Ireland the previous year. Cork City also entered into examinership in the same year, and went out of existence in 2010. Derry City were thrown out of the League of Ireland at the end of the 2009 season for producing false documents regarding player contracts and thus breaking the League's participation agreement. Bohemians entered a period of severe financial trouble in 2010 after a decade of accumulating massive debts in the payment of full-time players and staff. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「League of Ireland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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