Ulster Cup

Ulster Cup

Organiser(s)	Irish Football Association
Founded	1949 reestablished - 2026
Abolished	2003
Region	Northern Ireland
Most championships	Linfield (15 titles)

The Ulster Cup is an annual football competition held by the Irish Football League for senior clubs.

In 2026 the Northern Ireland Football League brought the trophy back, awarding it to the winners of the UEFA Europa Conference League Play-Off. Linfield were the first club to win the trophy in this new iteration.

History

Beginning in 1949, it was held on fifty-one occasions until being suspended after the 1998/99 season and discontinued after a one-off re-appearance in 2002/03. The last three editions were only open to First Division sides. From the mid-1980s to the early-1990s the competition was known as the Lombard Ulster Cup due to a sponsorship deal with the Lombard & Ulster Bank. It had previously been sponsored by Morans.

Format

The format of the Ulster Cup varied from season to season. It often employed a league format, with each club playing each other once and the winner declared as the team with the most points; and sometimes a group basis, with the winners decided by a play-off.

The format over the years was as follows:

Years	No. of seasons	Format
1948–49	1	group system plus final
1949–52	3	group system plus top-four knockout
1952–56	4	group system plus final
1956–57	1	league
1957–65	8	group system plus final
1965–83	18	league
1983–85	2	group system plus top-four knockout
1985–96	11	group system plus top-eight knockout
1996–97	1	knock-out
1997–99 and 2002–03	3	league (First Division clubs only)

Finals results

Winners of the Ulster Cup by season.

Key:

	Scores level after 90 minutes. A replay was required.
(a.e.t.)	Scores level after 90 minutes. Winner was decided in extra time with no penalty shootout required.
pens.	Scores level after extra time. A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner.

Performance by club

Senior

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning years	Runners-up years
Linfield	16	11	1948–49, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1992–93, 2025-26	1950–51, 1953–54, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1994–95, 1995–96
Glentoran	9	6	1950–51, 1952–53, 1966–67, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1988–89, 1989–90	1957–58, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1974–75
Coleraine	8	8	1965–66, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1996–97	1954–55, 1955–56, 1962–63, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1987–88
Crusaders	3	6	1953–54, 1963–64, 1993–94	1951–52, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1978–79, 1991–92, 1996–97
Ballymena United	3	2	1951–52, 1960–61, 1980–81	1949–50, 1971–72
Glenavon	3	5	1954–55, 1958–59, 1962–63	1960–61, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1989–90, 1990–91
Larne	2	2	1949–50, 1987–88	1984–85, 1988–89
Portadown	2	2	1990–91, 1995–96	1976–77, 1985–86
Bangor	2	1	1991–92, 1994–95	1993–94
Distillery	1	3	1957–58	1952–53, 1956–57, 1972–73
Ards	1	2	1973–74	1948–49, 1992–93

First Division only

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning years	Runners-up years
Distillery	1	1	1998–99	1997–98
Ballyclare Comrades	1	0	1997–98	—
Dungannon Swifts	1	0	2002–03	2025-26
Ards	0	1	—	1998–99
Ballymena United	0	1	—	2002–03

External links

• Ulster Cup Archive at the Irish Football Club Project Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Irish League Archive – Ulster Cup