Dear All,

Welcome to Belfast and the live draw for the first round proper of the DIVING IN THE BOX FFA CUP.

This year, I will once again be ably assisted by independent adjudicator Brother Johnston (Minus Three FC).

Brother Johnston will draw the home teams while my good self will draw the away teams.

This year's prize will be £50 for the winner as well as the coveted FFA Cup trophy, currently held by Brother Stevenson (Probably The Best)

Runner-up gets zilch, diddly squat, sweet FA, BFH... bus fare home, nothing in this game for two in a bed... etc, etc, etc.

Anyway, to repeat the rules...

To coincide with the fourth round of the cup, the first round of our very own FFA Cup randomly pits one team directly against another in a knock-out situation.

Our 16 winners will progress to the second round and so on, with each round coinciding with that of the English FA Cup - right up until the final.

The winner of each match will be the team that scores the most points in that particular week.

In the event of a draw, there will be a replay between the teams concerned the following week. If, in the unlikely event, of another draw, then the team with home advantage will go through.

We have 20 Premier League teams in the hat, alongside 12 Conference League teams so will we witness any giant killing feats?

Will there be any close friends or allies pitted against each other in the first round?

Will teams sacrifice their league position for the chance of FFA Cup glory?

There's only one way to find out...

Brother Johnston, can you stop playing with your balls and start the actual draw....................

Cool Dude Zoo, I'm not sure if you still exist any more but if so can you give us a feckin' drum roll....................

Before we kick off, every team's league position is in brackets beside their name (for example, P8 means eighth in the Premier League, while C5 means a crappy battery powered car designed by Sir Clive Sinclair - I hope I draw that one!!!).

And we're off. Just scroll down.....

.....

.....

Cherry Utd (P13) vs Hoofers Utd (C5)

And we kick off with a Premier v Conference battle of the uniteds - and there goes the Clive Sinclair car!! :-(

.....

.....

License 2 Roam (C12) vs The Blue Monkeys (P8)

Another Prem vs Conf tie - and a juicy one at that. Hopefully both teams have recovered sufficiently from the weekend's ACP to field a full strength team. Early possibility for tie of the round.

.....

.....

Minibabybelle FC (C13) vs KFC Academical (P12)

We all know how Brother McCauley loves the pressure of playing against a girl (no offence Claire!) - especially when they're in a lower league too!!!

.....

.....

Flexysmidniterunners (P3) vs Stickshifter Utd (C14)

High flying Flexy fancies his chances but Stickshifter scored 71 points in his preliminary round tie! That puts a different perspective on things, doesn't it?

.....

.....

Dirty Dubs XI (C8) vs Joeys Monsters (C1)

Ouch!!!! Battle of the McCabe brothers. Could get ugly - but what else would you expect from a match between two Conference teams. Avoid like the plague if you don;t want to be caught in the crossfire!

.....

.....

SOMEMAN4ONEMAN (C7) vs Bleedin Red (P6)

Another tie that keeps it in the family as Brothers Henry Snr and Crudden battle it out for bragging rights in Gulladuff. Can Brother Henry please give us all an explanation of that horrible team name?

.....

.....

Support Your Own LFC (P14) vs The Well Hungarians (C17)

A good local derby to whet the appetite as Brothers Walls and Nugent clash head on! The guru will fancy his chances but the only thing the Chairman can predict is that there will be a lot of crying from Brother Nujo if he loses. And for the last time... NO!!!! THE WINNER OF THE FFA CUP DOES NOT GET PROMOTED!!!!!!

.....

.....

Kirbs Crawlers (P19) vs Maclacticos (P18)

Two of the worst teams in the Premiership do battle in an effort to try and salvage something out of a piss poor season to date.

.....

.....

Minus Three FC (P16) vs Ibiza Town FC (P1)

Brother Johnston gets the worst possible draw - a home tie against The Professor / aka Brother Festraerts / aka Premiership leader. Can Johnston spring an upset - very interesting tie!!!

.....

.....

Yer Ma's Athletic (P15) vs Gazzas Piping Hots (P5)

Old Conference rivals do battle again with Brother Gaz on a revenge mission. McDonald has adapted to the Premiership better than Brother Jones and must be fancied.

.....

.....

Gunning for Glory (C15) vs The Rio Chargers (C3)

Another all Conference clash. Enough said really.

.....

.....

Inshallah (C4) vs Sofa King Easy (P7)

Tough away tie for stalwart McDermott away to Brother Arnie who will be cock-a-hoop (or have his cock in hoops) after scoring 70 points in the prelim round. Intriguing!

.....

.....

Diaby Does Dalla (P9) vs The Busted Sofas (P17)

Although both sides are in the Premiership, Brother Brogan will fancy his chances at home to the struggling sofas.

.....

...

Prince of Darkness (C2) vs The Grapes of Raff (P2)

Ouch again!!! Another local derby as second in the Conference takes on second in the Premier League. Can Cheeko spring an upset on the Chairman - another tie of the round candidate.

.....

...

True Blue Strikers (P10) vs Brendys Bruisers (P11)

A true battle of mid-table mediocrity. Too tight to call.

.....

...

Harpic Amsterdam (P20) vs Probably The Best (P4)

And finally, another cracking tie as defending Premier League champion (champ turned chump anyone?) takes on the defending Cup (and Conference) winner. It's like our very own DITB Charity Shield. Hard to believe but Stevenson must be favourite on paper - who would have imagined that a year ago. Come on Molloy - get your act together!!!

So that concludes the draw for the first round proper of the Diving in the Box FFA Cup. Ties to be played on the weekend of January 23 / 24 (inclduing tonight's matches).

There you have it folks! The countdown is on again to FFA Cup glory. Anyone can win a one-off game and the magic of the cup should ensure that we have plenty of thrills and spills at the end of the month.

I'm looking forward to the pre-match mind games which I hope will be put on screen for all to see. Let me know your thoughts too on the tie of the round.

Thanks to Brother Johnston for his assistance. Good luck to one and all.

This week's league tables are posted below so..........

............ READ 'EM AND WEEP!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael R.

Diving in the Box FF League Chairman

http://divinginthebox.blogspot.com/

DITB PREMIER LEAGUE

Pos.	C	Manager	Team	Week 23 Pts.	Points	Overall Pos.
1		Mr Kurt Festraerts	Ibiza Town FC	63	894	2580
2	*	Mr Michael Rafferty	The Grapes of Raff	52	871	5735
3		Mr Brendan Kelly	flexysmidniterunners	62	848	11230
4		Mr Mark Stevenson	Probably the best	56	818	23251
5		Mr Gary McDonald	Gazzas Piping Hots	48	812	26443
6		Mr Declan Crudden	Bleedin Red	59	808	28630
7		Mr John McDermott	Sofa King Easy	49	799	34042
8		Mr Brian Shields	The Blue Monkeys	48	795	36449
9		Mr Paul Brogan	Diaby Does Dallas	51	779	47390
10		Mr Jules Eilledge	True Blue Strikers	55	762	60261
11		Mr Brendan Devlin	Brendys Bruisers	33	760	61870
12		Mr Kevin McCauley	KFC Academical	53	755	65819
13		Mr William Cherry	Cherry United	55	754	66655
14		Mr Conor Walls	Support your own LFC	52	751	69137
15		Mr Francis Jones	Yer Mas Athletic	47	750	69967
16		Mr Geoff Johnston	Minus Three FC	47	737	80555
17		Mr Conor Donnelly	The Busted Sofas	55	731	85567
18		Dr Owen McNally	Maclacticos	36	728	87971
19		Mr Andy Kirby	Kirbs Crawlers	55	720	94653
20		Mr Mark Molloy	Harpic Amsterdam	42	713	100254

DITB CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Pos.	C	Manager	Team	Week 23 Pts.	Points	Overall Pos.
1		Mr Andrew McCabe	Joeys Monsters	55	831	17352
2		Mr Gavin Sheehy	Prince of Darkness	56	824	20336
3		Mr Andrew Jenkins	The Rio Chargers	55	807	29211
4		Mr Arnold Thom	Inshallah	72	797	35283
5		Mr Gareth Bradley	Hoofers UTD	66	795	36449
6		Mr Philip Risley	LIQUIDATOR FC	55	786	42398
7		Mr Brendan Henry	SOMEMAN4ONEMAN	45	773	51788
8		Mr Alan McCabe	Dirty Dubs XI	49	765	57862
8		Mr Christopher Cherry	Red Cherry Devils	50	765	57862
10		Mr Colm Mckenna	mugsys barber	36	760	61870
11		Mr Brendan Henry	GULLADUFF FF	48	758	63442
12		Mr S P O'Sullivan	LICENCE TO ROAM	48	754	66655
13		Mrs Claire McCabe	Minibabybelle FC	61	751	69137
14		Mr Simon Jenkins	Stickshifter United	71	747	72382
15		Mr Barry Corr	bazkinginglory	54	739	78876
15		Mr Barry Jones	Gunning For Glory	61	739	78876
17	*	Mr Conor Nugent	the well hungarians	56	723	92164
18		Mr Austin McGinley	Boys Of Summer	38	701	109417
19		Mr Connell McGinley	Con Villa	40	646	143794