Peake drawn at home to favourites Sheriff in the FAI Junior Cup quarter fina
The last eight sides left in Europe’s largest amateur football competition were at the home of Irish football, the Aviva Stadium, yesterday with AVIVA’s FAI Junior Cup Ambassadors Kevin Kilbane and Brian Gartland for the FAI Junior Cup Quarter Final Draw.
The captain of holders Sheriff YC, Paul Murphy, was joined by the captains from Boyle Celtic (Sligo / Leitrim), Evergreen FC (Kilkenny), Kilmallock United (Limerick), Janesboro (Limerick), Carrick United (Waterford), Killarney Celtic (Kerry) and Peake Villa (Tipperary) as they got the opportunity to walk around the Stadium that will again host the final.
With over 650 teams starting the #RoadToAviva in September, Sheriff YC will go into last 8 draw as favourites again having won three of the last five finals including a 1-0 over Limerick’s Pike Rovers in last year’s final. Janesboro FC from Limerick will be hoping to go one further this year after losing to Sheriff in last year’s semi-final. Aside from Sheriff, Waterford’s Carrick United are the only side from the last eight to have won the FAI Junior Cup, taking home the trophy in 2008.
AVIVA FAI Junior Cup Quarter Final Draw
Killarney Celtic (Kerry) v Janesboro FC (Limerick)
Evergreen FC (Kilkenny) v Kilmallock United (Limerick)
Carrick United (Waterford) v Boyle Celtic (Sligo / Leitrim)
Peake Villa (Tipperary) v Sheriff YC (Dublin)
Ties to be played the 10th, 11th, 12th March
AVIVA’s sponsorship of this year’s competition will see the Final take place at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday 13th May. AVIVA have also produced national television coverage of the competition that has been broadcast on eir Sport since Round Three this season and every game from the Quarter Finals through to the Final will be filmed for national television broadcast on eir Sport and TG4.
Kevin Kilbane, AVIVA’s FAI Junior Cup Ambassador, said; “I’ve been involved as Aviva’s ambassador for the FAI Junior Cup for several years now and undoubtedly the competition is getting better year on year. The coverage has increased, the TV broadcasts bring a whole new element to the Cup and teams are looking at the FAI Junior Cup saying we want to win that, we want to be a part of that. A lot of these teams outline a run in the FAI Junior Cup as their main aim for the season and that says a lot about the profile and quality that this competition provides.”
John Delaney, Chief Executive, Football Association of Ireland, said; “The FAI Junior Cup in association with Aviva and Umbro has long been regarded as arguably the biggest grassroots competition around Europe and its prestige has risen since we brought the final to Aviva Stadium in 2013. Every junior footballer in the country now dreams of playing in the final at Aviva Stadium and I know how much it meant to my own club St Michael’s when we lifted the FAI Junior Cup in 2014 and there are eight community clubs all dreaming of having their captain lift the trophy this May.
“Sheriff YC have proven to be standard bearers with three wins in the last five years but it is very interesting that the seven other clubs are all from outside of Dublin and it shows the strength of the game around the country. I wish all of the remaining clubs the best of luck in tonight’s draw and thanks to Aviva and Umbro for their continued support of this fantastic competition which will celebrate its century in 2024.”
Robert Kennedy, Head of Sales and Trading, Aviva Insurance, said; “This is Aviva’s fifth year sponsoring the FAI Junior Cup and it’s been a huge success working with the FAI to see this competition go from strength to strength. As sponsors we are in the unique position of being able to house the Final at the Aviva Stadium, but also to increase the promotion by providing national television coverage from Round Three. This good thinking has given clubs all over the country the opportunity to showcase Junior football regularly to a national audience and has helped make the FAI Junior Cup one of the country’s most developed sports tournaments.”
As part of their sponsorship of this year’s FAI Junior Cup, Aviva launched the “Put Your Name On It” initiative which gives each of the 650 clubs involved in the competition the opportunity to win prizes that will benefit their club. The campaign gives them the chance to secure benefits such as High Performance Training and a range of new training equipment.
For more information about the FAI Junior Cup, log on to www.aviva.ie/faijuniorcup