Football in Tirol

Football in Tirol
Country	Tirol
Governing body	A.J.P.
National team(s)	Tirol national team
National competitions
National Cup
Club competitions
Lia Naziunela Lia 2 Lia Prima
International competitions
Champions League Ecros Cup Terraconserva Club World Cup Terraconservan Cup (National Team) Ecros Championship (National Team)

Football is the most popular sport in Tirol. The Tiroler Football Association, the AJP (Assoziazion d Jüch-al-Palé), was founded in 1889 and has been a member of the LFE since its founding in 1954.

Tirol has played in every Ecros Championship since the tournament's founding in 1957. The team has seen a great deal of success in the tournament, most recently in 2021, when a successful bid to host the tournament was followed by a victory in the final against Malgax.

In the Terraconservan Cup, Tirol has fared marginally worse, though it has participated in every cup. The Tiroler team was knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2016. It failed to qualify in list of years, and was knocked out in the group stage in list of years. However it has reached the knockout phase in list of years, and were champions in list of years.

History

Football was born in Tirol around 1880, and from 1889 a cup was played in Balsan. The first football league of the country was born in 1901, called 1. Tlassa, organized by the Football Federation of the Inn, and became a professional league in 1921, the year in which it changed its name to I. Lia. In 1923 an amateur championship was organized that CP Maran won, in which the clubs of the professional league of Provinzia Inn were excluded from participating.

In 1931 the Naziunellia was introduced, the second division in which the teams of other provinces of Tirol could ascend and contest the highest competition of the country. After the creation of Statlia A in 1940, all Tiroler teams came together to form a league. However, the road to organizing the league was difficult. A conflict between the representatives of amateur and professional football led to the separation of the Balsan league from the football federation, and a new competition was established on June 30, 1941. A year later the Statlia B, the second division, was born. which remained until 1959.

On April 21, 1974 the current Lia Naziunela was introduced, and the Naziunellia was reestablished as the second division of the country (now known as Lia 2). The Tiroler Football Federation (AJP) is the highest professional football organisation in Tirol and was founded in 1889, it was one of the four founding organisations of the LFE in 1954. The AJP organizes the Lia Naziunela - the first and highest league competition of the country- and the National Cup, and manages the national men's and women's national team.

The oldest team in Tirol is CP Maran, champion of six Tiroler leagues. CP Innsbruck is the most successful team in the country, with 32 league titles.

National team

The Tiroler men's national team, in its different categories, is controlled by the Tiroler Football Federation.

The Tiroler team played their first official game on 12 October 1889 in Franconia against Quebecshire, a match that was resolved with victory by the Quebecshirites 4-3 This match was the first played between two Ecrosian national teams.

LFE Championships and Terraconservan Cup

Manuel Nöia, with 106 internationals, is the player who has worn the shirt of the national team most times, having overtaken Toni Duca in 2022, who had previously held the title with 103 appearances. The top scorer in history is Andi Polster, with 44 goals for the national team in his career.

Competitions

League system

The Lia Naziunela is the highest national league-club competition in Tirol. It has fourteen teams, the second tier is the Lia 2 and has 18 teams. The third tier is the Lia Prima which teams must qualify for every season from four parallel divisions which are the provincial leagues (Lia Provinzièla). These cover the different provinces of Tirol as follows: the Inn (Lia dl Inn), which comprises teams from Innsbruck and Provinzia Inn; the North (Liga dl Nord), featuring teams from Provinzia Ziller and Provinzia Passeier; the Adesc (Lia d'Adesc), competed for by teams from Provinzia Adesc; and the Trentin (Lia dl Trentin) competed for by teams from Provinzia Trentin. Below this level each provincial association has varying tiers below the provincial leagues which determine qualifications and relegations from the provincial leagues.

Below shows how the current system works.

Level	Division
I	Lia Naziunela 14 clubs
	↓↑ 1 club
II	Lia 2 (Second League) 18 clubs
	↓↑ 5 clubs
III	Lia Prima (League Premier) 25 clubs
	↓ 20 clubs
	↑ 5 clubs		↑ 5 clubs		↑ 5 clubs		↑ 5 clubs
IV	Lia dl Inn (League of the Inn) 16 clubs		Lia dl Nord (League of the North) 16 clubs		Lia dl Trentin (League of the Trentin) 16 clubs		Lia d'Adesc (League of Adesc) 16 clubs

National Cup

Main article: Còpa Naziunela

See also

• Tirol national football team
• Lia Naziunela