British Isles Premier League and Unity Cup > Scottish and Irish sides moved to the EPL [WITH GRAPHICS]

For the purposes of this, I have included the Republic of Ireland in the 'Home Nations' definition.

This database is largely fictitious.

This database features a huge number of changes to teams and divisions within the Home Nations. One of the primary changes brings Rangers, Celtic, Linfield and a new Dublin side to the Premier League, with Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Dundee Utd also moved to the English pyramid. 
 

A new knockout tournament, the 'Unity Cup' includes teams from each of the Home Nations. A number of changes have been made in each nation to keep the number of matches played each season roughly the same as today. 

DOWNLOAD HERE:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/oikc6yvwhu2n41c/UnityCup_July21.zip/file

By default, there are just 22 pro and semi-pro sides in the Republic of Ireland (compared to 83 in Wales and 87 in NI). The Irish leagues have received an update in this database to try and improve the quality of the domestic game and improve the supply of home-grown players for Dublin Morrigan- the new Dublin-based Premier League side. Equally, Dublin's youth intake would produce good quality Irish players, many of which would end up in the expanded Irish domestic leagues. A regionalised Second Division has been added which has relegation to the activated amateur leagues below. 

The reputation and prize money of the League of Ireland has been increased to more closely match Scotland, and ditto for NI and Wales. The relative importance of these leagues is also reflected in their stadium requirements and Unity Cup entry rounds. 

The English-based Scottish sides continue to play in the Scottish Cup, and Linfield and Dublin both play in the FAI Cup. 

The U18 structures in each of the Home Nations have been fixed and expanded in this database. The U18 sides of Scottish, NI and Irish sides in the English system will play in their respective countries, and the FA Youth Cup has been expanded in line with the 'Unity Cup', to bring the best youth sides from across the British Isles together.  

There are literally thousands of other smaller changes made too, from adjusted reputations to new fictional competitions. Big thanks to Rabcp for allowing me to use his pre-season friendly competitions in this database. Please see the list below for a summary of the things that this database includes.

Countless changes have been made across the six core files and it would take too long to list here, for example, the format of each of the created tournaments, but feel free to comment if there's any specific questions you have. Please follow the instructions in the 'HowTo.txt' to install, particularly as the graphics may overlap with other logopacks you may have.

PREMIER LEAGUE

- Celtic and Rangers have been moved from the Scottish Premiership to the EPL. Their finances and reputation have been boosted to give them a chance to develop their squads accordingly.

- Linfield have been moved from the NIPL to the EPL, with financial support and new players assigned to allow them to be competitive. 

- Dublin Morrigan FC are created, and play in the Premier League. They begin with very few players and £100m. Dublin play at the Aviva Stadium, and a new training facility has been developed for their youth sides.   

- Initial Premier League sponsorship and TV income has been reduced, although this rebuilds over time. 

-  The top 6 in England each lose £50m which is then redistributed amongst the sides entering the English system, to compensate for the fact that their existing teams were built for weaker competitions.

- Additional financial sanctions have been applied to some teams with some 'Sugar Daddy' owners re-allocated.  

- 10% of Premier League TV money is distributed to the other four home nations (2.5% each).

- 10% of Premier League TV money is distributed to the Championship, League 1, League 2 and the National League.

- TV and Prize money across the home nations have been adjusted in line with their relative 'Prestige'.

- With several tournaments being held in the summer of 2021 including the Euro's, Olympics and Club World Cup, the Premier League start date has been pushed back three weeks in 2021 only. The season end date and transfer windows are unchanged. 

ENGLAND (CHAMPIONSHIP + BELOW)

- Six Scottish teams have been added to League 1- Hearts, Hibernian, Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Dundee United and Aberdeen. 

- Several teams have been relegated or denied promotion to make space for the Scottish and Irish teams. This was primarily done based on their 2019/20 results. 

  - A fourth promotion and relegation spot is created between League 1 and the Championship to give these relegated sides a better chance of promotion to the Championship. This is a temporary change that reverts back after three seasons, reducing to just three promotion and relegation spaces from 2023.   

- A third promotion and relegation spot is created between the National League and League 2, to give newly relegated sides a better chance of promotion back into the League. This is a temporary change that reverts back after three seasons.

- Reputations have been adjusted according to the league teams now sit in, as well as their average attendances, the quality of their players and the standard of their facilities to more accuracy reflect their real-life stature.  

- The ten Scottish and Irish sides that play in the English system have been excluded from the FA Cup. As the number of English teams in each division will change year on year, the FA Cup has been adjusted like so:
    i. National League and League 2 teams all enter the FA Cup in the First Round.

    ii. All League 1 sides and between 4 and 12 Championship sides enter the FA Cup in the Second Round.

    iii. The remaining Championship sides and all Premier League sides enter the FA Cup in the Third Round.

    iv. The First Qualifying Round has been added, with non-league teams entering at slightly different stages than they do today.

- The League Cup is lo longer played. 

- The EFL Trophy schedule has been adjusted to reduce the number of matches in the first few months of the season. Premier League U23 sides no longer compete, only League 1 and League 2 sides.

- Changes to the U18/U19 league format as described below.  

SCOTLAND

- Scottish Cup extended with 154 teams, including the 8 that play in England. English-based Scottish Cup winners will not qualify for Europe. 

- The winners of the Scottish Cup and the SPL play one another in a Scottish Charity Shield match each August at Hampden. Matches that end in a draw use Golden Goal to find a winner. 

- Several clubs have been promoted to replace those moved to England. 

- Lower divisions have been renamed the First, Second and Third Division.

- The Betfred Cup features only sides from the Scottish leagues. Lower division clubs play in a regionalised group stage with the top three from each group progressing with the top two fourth-placed sides.  All Premiership clubs enter in the second knockout round, a move designed to ease congestion with possible additional Unity Cup matches. 

- Changes to the U18/U19 league format as described below.  

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

- Additional leagues added and pyramid structure with promotion and relegation to the regional leagues established.

- Shelbourne and Cork City have been spared relegation from the Premier Division to keep 12 teams in the Premier Division from 2021. 

- Treaty United have been added to the League of Ireland First Division, as they have been in real life.   

- The 'Treaty City Derby' between Limerick and Treaty United has been added. 

- The League of Ireland First Division has been expanded to 12 teams with the addition of Kilkenny City, Monaghan Utd and Treaty United.   

- The new League of Ireland Second Division is regionalised north and south. The top two teams qualify for the Promotion Playoff and the bottom team from each region plays in a relegation playoff, with the loser relegated. 

- Provincial senior leagues have been activated, with the winners of each division qualifying for a playoff for the single promotion spot. The top two in Leinster qualify as it's the largest province.

- B-teams can play as high as the Second Division, but specific rules apply to those sides, for example relating to the number of loanees and full-time players that can play.

- A maximum of four reserve sides can play in the Second Division, and reserve teams are denied promotion from the senior leagues once this is met.

- Shamrock Rovers II allowed to play in the First Division, but if relegated, they cannot be re-promoted.

- Dublin U23 participate in the Leinster Senior Cup. 

- The FAI Intermediate Cup has been activated for teams in the Second Divsion and below. 

- The winners of the League of Ireland Cup, League of Ireland PD, NIPL and Irish Cup (NI) compete each summer in the 'Irish Super Cup', with the final and third-place playoff held on the same day at the Aviva Stadium. 

- Dublin Morrigan and Linfield participate in the FAI Cup, entering at the fourth round, but cannot qualify for Europe through this means. 

- The FAI Cup winner plays the League of Ireland PD winner each January for the Presidents Medal. 

- The dates of the FAI Cup, Scottish Cup and FA Cup align wherever possible. 

- Some changes made to the stadiums of lower-league Irish clubs, and minimum stadium requirements brought in to the League of Ireland.  

- Changes to the U18/U19 league format as described below.  

NORTHERN IRELAND

- Ballinamallard United are promoted to the NIPL to replace Linfield.

- The Irish League Cup has been reformatted and now only features sides from the top two divisions. The first round is a small group stage with eight groups of three, each winner qualifying for the quarter finals. 

- NIPL reserve teams no longer participate in the NI Intermediate Cup.

- The 'Ulster Cup' is restarted between NI Championship clubs, NIPL reserve teams and Ulster Senior League teams from the Republic of Ireland.  

- Linfield Swifts enter into County Antrim Shield.

- The North West Cup has been activated in-game for teams in County L'Derry, Tyrone and Fermanagh.

- New 'George Best Memorial Cup' added between NIPL winner and Linfield each season.

- New 'Belfast Charity Cup' added between Belfast-based clubs including Linfield Swifts. 

- The number of teams relegated from the Intermediate Premier League has increased to 2. 

WALES

- Specific host stadiums have been set for the Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup finals for increased realism.

- A minimum stadium capacity of 2000, with 1000 seats, has been set in the Cymru Premier to encourage spending on improved stadia, given the possibility of big-name ties in the Unity Cup. 

- Changes to the U18/U19 league format as described below.  

YOUTH FOOTBALL 

- The FA Youth Cup has been expanded to include youth teams from across the home nations. It remains regionalised in the earlier rounds. 

- The U18 PL and EFL Youth Alliance have been fixed, so that the U18 sides of all league clubs play in a proper division.

- An additional tier of regional U18 divisions has been added in England, so that National League U18 sides still play regular competitive matches. 

- The U18 teams of Scottish sides based in England play in the Scottish U18 Elite League.  

- Hereford, Merthyr, Wrexham, Chester and Newport Co. U18 sides now play in the Welsh youth league system. Cardiff and Swansea U18s also play in the FAW Youth Cup.

- An issue whereby the top Welsh sides don't qualify for the Cymru U18 leagues has been fixed. 

- Linfield U18 continue to play in the NI Development League. 

- A new All-Ireland Youth tournament has been created between the top NI and ROI youth teams each year, played January-March. Each team plays six matches in an initial group stage, with the top six teams progressing to the final knockout stage. 

- The Enda McGuill Academy Trophy is a new 64-team knockout tournament for youth teams from across the Republic of Ireland. Teams that make it to the Quarter finals automatically qualify to play in the following season's U19 National League. 

- Dublin Morrigan's U18 side participate in the All-Ireland Youth Trophy but not in the Enda McGuill Academy Trophy or Irish U19 National League.

- Four new invitational youth tournaments have been created in South Wales, Merseyside, Central Scotland and Dublin to bring together some of the top youth sides in the home nations against youth sides from the rest of the world. 

- The Dallas Cup and Texas Cup have been recreated, based on the real-life formats, bringing together the best youth sides in Texas, North America and beyond. 

- The youth level and wage expectations of the home nations have been adjusted slightly.

UNITY CUP

- A new knockout tournament has been created which brings together the top teams from each of the home nations.

- Round 1 is regionalised into four regions. 

- Teams that enter in Round 1 are:

   i. Scottish First Division* teams (12)

   ii. English League 1 & League 2 sides (48)

   iii. Welsh Premier sides (Best 10 out of 12)

   iv. NI Premiership sides (12)

   v. League of Ireland Premier Division and First Division sides (24)

* Scottish Championship is renamed the First Division, see above.

- Round 2 is regionalised with two regions, east and west of the Irish Sea. This means nine teams from the island of Ireland will qualify for Round 3 each year.

- Teams that enter in Round 2 are:

   i. Scottish Premiership sides (12)

   ii. English Championship sides (24)

- Teams that enter in Round 3 are:

   i. English Premier League sides (20)

- A minimum stadium capacity of 2000, with 1000 seats, is required from the Second Round onwards. Some smaller teams will therefore play home matches away from their usual home ground. 

- The final is held at the Millennium Stadium, with the semi-finals played in neutral stadia.

OTHER NEW COMPETITIONS

- My custom FIFA Club World Cup files are included in this download, and can be used or ignored as you choose:
https://sortitoutsi.net/content/58157/club-world-cup-alternative-format

- A new 'Celtic Nations Cup' brings together amateur, semi-pro and reserve teams from the six Celtic nations in a pre-season tournament each year.

- The 'Commonwealth Challenge Cup' is a new pre-season tournament held every other year in Australia or South Africa. It features sides from the commonwealth nations including at least one English side. 

- Copa Lusófonos is a new pre-season tournament held each year in Portugal, featuring sides from Portuguese-speaking nations. Each group contains one 'invited' team from across Europe, but these are excluded from qualifying for the knockout rounds. The Primeira Liga winner enters at the semi-final stage and hosts these final matches. 

- The Nike Liberty Cup is a new pre-season tournament between Premier League and MLS teams, held on the east and west coasts on alternate years. 

- The Emerald Isle Trophy is held on or around St Patricks Day each year in the US. It is contested between Dublin Morrigan and a selected MLS team. 

- The StarTimes Africa Cup is a new pre-season tournament held between four selected African, Asian and European clubs. 

- The Coupe D'or is a new pre-season tournament hosted by African francophone nations between clubs from those countries, Switzerland, France and Belgium. This is a knockout tournament with every club placed, so all clubs play three matches. 

- The Arabian Super Cup is a new tournament contested by invited domestic champions, primarily from nations in the Middle East and North Africa. After a short league stage, the top two nations progress to a Grand Final. 

- Pre-season tournaments by Rabcp are included in this database, including the International Champions Cup, Uhrencup, PL Asia Trophy, Florida Cup and more, with a few changes to host stadia and qualified teams. Thanks again to Rabcp for this!

https://sortitoutsi.net/content/57664/pre-season-competitions-v1

EUROPE 

- Changes have not been made to the European continental qualification system. However, these files should all be compatible with Carlito's UEFA Revival files.

- Minor changes have been made to clubs and players across the continent to reduce the dominance of the top sides, such as Juventus, PSG and Bayern, in their respective leagues. 

BROADER CHANGES

- A multitude of other smaller changes have been made to clubs, staff and players across the five nations which aim to reduce the dominance of the big clubs and increase opportunities for smaller clubs.

- The existing and expansion capacity of several stadiums have been adjusted for realism    

- Updates have been made to implement planned stadium expansions that haven't yet been picked up and encourage clubs to improve their stadia in future as the base game often neglects this. 

- The dates of the FA Cup, Scottish Cup and FAI Cup have been broadly aligned so that all clubs typically play in their domestic cups on the same days.

GRAPHICS 

- The graphics pack includes logos for each of the new custom tournaments.

- Custom/Fantasy 3D and Standard 2D kits have been created for most Welsh clubs in Step 3.

- Custom/Fantasy 3D and Standard 2D kits have been created for all Irish clubs in Steps 2-5. 

- As the kits need to correspond with the database colours, I've included Irish Step 1 kits by wfm18 and priority76 in this pack.

- Custom/Fantasy 3D and Standard 2D kits have been created for all Northern Irish clubs in Steps 2-4.

- Custom/Fantasy 3D and Standard 2D kits have been created for selected Scottish sides missed out by existing kit packs. 

- Additional custom third kits have been added to some teams without enough variety in their default kits, including Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Dundee, Linfield and Dundalk. 

- Kit packs (3D and Standard 2D) for England steps 1-10 can be found on Sortitoutsi.

https://sortitoutsi.net/graphics/style/7/standard-kits

CHALLENGES!  

Easy - Dublin begin life in the Premier League with a threadbare squad and a measly £100m. Can you survive relegation in your first season? Can you eventually build Dublin into a European superpower? 

Medium - With the Old Firm gone, who will fill the power void left behind in the Scottish Prem? Can you turn around the fortunes of Partick Thistle and paint Glasgow yellow and red?

Hard - Build a new club from scratch with Treaty United of the Irish First Division. Established in 2020, Treaty share Markets Field with arch-rivals Limerick FC. They begin with no players at all and just €75k in the bank. Can you build them up from nothing into an Atlantic Coast Powerhouse?

Extreme - The ultimate quintuple challenge: win the domestic titles of all five home nations (and the Unity Cup for good measure), after starting the game unemployed. If you choose to take on this beast, you're obliged to share your progress so we can see!

WHAT NEXT?

- I'm planning to create a similar database in which the whole Five Nations system is one pyramid, so any team can be promoted to the Premier League. This could be tricky though, so give me a few months! 

DOWNLOAD HERE:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/oikc6yvwhu2n41c/UnityCup_July21.zip/file