The Conference League Cup (formerly known as the Setanta Shield for sponsorship reasons, and before that the Bob Lord Challenge Trophy) was a football competition open to clubs playing in the Football Conference.
Founded | 1979 |
---|---|
Abolished | 2009 |
Region | |
Number of teams | 68 (2008–09) |
Last champions | AFC Telford United (2008–09) |
Most successful club(s) | Bromsgrove Rovers, Doncaster Rovers, Northwich Victoria & Runcorn (2 wins each) |
History
editThe competition was formed for the inaugural season of what was then called the Alliance Premier League, in 1979–80 and existed for twenty-two seasons before being axed at the end of the 2000–01 season.[citation needed] It was briefly reformed for the 2004–05 season, in the form of the Conference Challenge Cup,[1] but following a poor response it was again agreed not to renew the competition for the next season. [citation needed]
With the transfer of sponsorship of the Conference to Blue Square for the start of the 2007–08 season two seasons later, the re-introduction of the competition was announced, scheduled to commence that year.[2] On 23 June 2009 the Conference League Cup's sponsor, Setanta's GB division went into administration[3] and ceased broadcasting.[4] The tournament has not been held since 2009.
Format
editThe competition was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random – like the FA Cup there is a minimal form of seeding, in that members of the (higher-level) Conference National enter together at a later stage in the tournament, and the draw for each round took place after the completion of the round before. [citation needed]
Winners
editSeason | Winner | Runner-up |
---|---|---|
Bob Lord Challenge Trophy | ||
1979–80 | Northwich Victoria | Altrincham |
1980–81 | Altrincham | Kettering Town |
1981–82 | Weymouth | Enfield |
1982–83 | Runcorn | Scarborough |
1983–84 | Scarborough | Barnet |
1984–85 | Runcorn | Maidstone United |
1985–86 | Stafford Rangers | Barnet |
1986–87[5] | Kettering Town | Hendon |
1987–88 | Horwich RMI | Weymouth |
1988–89 | Barnet | Hyde United |
1989–90 | Yeovil Town | Kidderminster Harriers |
1990–91 | Sutton United | Barrow |
1991–92 | Wycombe Wanderers | Runcorn |
1992–93 | Northwich Victoria | Wycombe Wanderers |
1993–94 | Macclesfield Town | Yeovil Town |
1994–95 | Bromsgrove Rovers | Kettering Town |
1995–96 | Bromsgrove Rovers | Macclesfield Town |
1996–97 | Kidderminster Harriers | Macclesfield Town |
1997–98 | Morecambe | Woking |
1998–99 | Doncaster Rovers | Farnborough Town |
1999–2000 | Doncaster Rovers | Kingstonian |
2000–01 | Chester City | Kingstonian |
Conference Cup | ||
2004–05 | Woking | Stalybridge Celtic |
Setanta Shield | ||
2007–08 | Aldershot Town | Rushden & Diamonds |
2008–09 | AFC Telford United | Forest Green Rovers |
Source:[6] (note: source does not list finals for 1986–87 to 1988–89)
References
edit- ^ Oliver, Pete (7 June 2004). "Conference cup is restored". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ "Setanta Shield announced with league match draw date". BBC Sport. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
- ^ Ziegler, Martin (23 June 2009). "Setanta enters administration". London: The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ James Robinson; Leigh Holmwood (23 June 2009). "Setanta goes off air with loss of more than 200 jobs". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ Dunk, Peter (20 August 1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. Queen Anne Press. p. 881. ISBN 978-0-3561435-4-5. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "History". Football Conference. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
External links
edit- Setanta Shield results 2007-08 on BBC Sport
- Setanta Shield results 2008-09 on BBC Sport