CHAMPIONS CUP RETURNS

AMID Shamrock Rovers’ concerns about scheduling, the 2021 Champions Cup, sponsored by the trade union Unite, is back with a pot of €150,000 and a trip to Aviva Stadium on Sunday, December 4 for the final. Four clubs, two from the NIFL Premiership and two from the SSE Airtricity League will contest the all-Ireland competition, first played for in 2019 between Dundalk and Linfield. Linfield and Coleraine, the NIFL one-two in 2020-2021 season, will contest one semi-final with Rovers, the 2020 LOI champions, to play the 2021 runners-up —most likely St Patrick’s Athletic. Should the Saints advance to the Extra.ie FAI Cup final on Sunday, November 28, their fixture with Rovers will be squeezed in the midweek prior to the final. However, if the Saints make a semi exit, the game with the Hoops would probably be played on Saturday, November 27. It’s believed that Rovers would have preferred a January slot for the competition as part of pre-season preparation for the 2022 League of Ireland which gets underway on February 11. But the FAI, the IFA, and the sponsors, Unite, have settled on a date running from late November to early December for the competition, which offers €60,000 to the winners, €40,000 to the runners-up and €25,000 to the losing semifinalists. There could be further top-ups through TV money and gate receipts. While a December 4 finish may not suit Rovers, if they had qualified for the Europa Conference League group phase they would have been playing up to December 9. Meanwhile, the FAI have advertised for a deputy CEO to serve under Jonathan Hill, who has been CEO for almost a year.