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123-695: In addition to the league divisions, the NIFL also operates the Northern Ireland Football League Cup for its member clubs, as well as the NIFL Development League and George Wilson Cup for their reserve teams, and the NIFL Youth League and NIFL Youth League Cup for their youth teams. Operated as a limited company, the 36 member clubs act as shareholders with one vote each. The NIFL is the successor to

246-673: A treble ; the league, the League Cup and the FAI Cup. Qualifying for the 1989–90 European Cup , it met past winners, Benfica , in the first round. Since 1989, Derry has won the League of Ireland Premier Division once – in 1996–97 – but has been runner-up on three occasions. It added five more FAI Cups to its tally in 1995, 2002, 2006, 2012, and 2022, and was runner-up in 1994, 1997, 2008, and 2014 and has also won ten further League Cups. The club has been beset by financial problems and

369-491: A +34 goal difference to Crusaders' +26. Before goal difference was introduced, if the top two teams finished the season with the same number of points, the championship title was decided by a play-off. Nine such championship play-offs took place over the years as follows: On seven occasions, a team has completed a league campaign unbeaten. Linfield have done so four times, but with fewer fixtures relative to Belfast Celtic's unbeaten seasons in 1926–27 and 1928–29. Glentoran were

492-415: A 100% record in the final, lifting the cup in their sole final appearance to date: Bangor in 1992–93 , Lisburn Distillery in 2010–11 , and Dungannon Swifts in 2017–18 . In 2008–09 , Championship side Portadown became the first intermediate club and the first club from outside the top flight to reach the final, and subsequently to win the cup, after defeating Premiership side Newry City 1–0. That

615-506: A 4–3 win over defending champions Coleraine in extra time. This also became the highest scoring final in the cup's history. The final was initially broadcast as highlights on UTV throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Live coverage of the final first began on the BBC in 2005, and continued until Sky acquired the rights to show the 2013 and 2014 finals on Sky Sports as part of a deal to cover Northern Ireland international matches. Following

738-505: A certain identity. Indeed, prior to 1969, over half of the club's support base came from the sizeable Unionist community that lived in the cityside at the time. The onset of the troubles made the Brandywell's Nationalist location too dangerous to visit and Unionist support fell away to a small minority, in keeping with the rapid Unionist depopulation of the cityside as a whole. The city's wider Protestant community, almost entirely based in

861-529: A crest on the club jersey throughout the Irish League years, nor for most of the first League of Ireland season. Instead, the coat of arms of the city appeared on club memorabilia such as scarves, hats and badges. The symbols on the arms are a skeleton, three-towered castle, red St. George's cross and sword. The sword and cross are devices of the City of London , and along with an Irish harp embedded within

984-701: A final decision and the Gaelic Athletic Association bought it ten years later. It also decided against buying Meenan Park for £1,500. Because of Northern Ireland 's volatile political situation during the Troubles and security fears for Protestants and those of the unionist tradition visiting the mainly nationalist city of Derry, the Brandywell has not always been the home ground of Derry City. In 1970 and 1971, Derry had to play its "home" ties against Linfield at Windsor Park in Belfast –

1107-478: A knockout competition for members was introduced, known as the B Division Knockout Cup and sponsored by Smirnoff . It was discontinued after 2002, but a new IFA Intermediate League Cup was played between 2004 and 2008, sponsored in its first season by the Daily Mirror and thereafter by Carnegie. In 2008–09, there was no knockout competition for Championship clubs, who participated with Premiership clubs in

1230-579: A late goal. Barry McCreadie was Derry's first scorer in the League of Ireland as he scored during a 3–1 home win over Home Farm on 8 September 1985. Derry's first hat-trick in the League of Ireland was scored by Kevin Mahon away to Finn Harps on 15 December 1985. Derry's 1000th league goal was scored by Conor Sammon on 9 May 2008 against Shamrock Rovers . A number of capped internationals have also played for Derry. Derry's record League of Ireland defeat

1353-615: A league below (a rump Irish Football League in 2003–04 and subsequently the IFA Intermediate League ). In 2008, with the creation of the IFA Premiership, the league was reduced to twelve. The Northern Ireland Football League was formed in 2013 to assume independent collective management of the top three levels of the Northern Ireland football league system , which had been under the direct management of

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1476-536: A local greyhound racing venue, with an ovoid track encircling the pitch. The dimensions of the pitch measure 111 by 72 yards (101 m × 66 m). The legal owner is the Derry City Council which lets the ground to the club. Due to health and safety regulations the stadium has a seating capacity of 2,900 for UEFA competitions, although it can accommodate 7,700 on a normal match-day, terraces included. The curved cantilever all-seated "New Stand"

1599-403: A mainly nationalist city and so had come to be supported largely by Catholics. The IFA, Belfast -based, was dominated by Protestants and it was widely suspected that it would rather have been represented by a traditionally unionist team. Relations between the club and IFA quickly deteriorated. There had been no significant history of sectarian difficulties at matches in the first 40 years of

1722-579: A membership of eight was achieved for the 1901–02 season. With the exception of one season (1912–13) in which there were ten clubs, membership stayed at eight until the southern clubs resigned in 1920, anticipating the formation of the separate League of Ireland in what would become the Irish Free State . (The League was suspended from 1915 to 1919 because of the First World War.) Prior to the split, three southern clubs had participated in

1845-534: A one-year hiatus in which the cup was not played during the 2020–21 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland , the competition returned for the 2021–22 season , which saw the final being played on a Sunday for the first time in the competition's history. This attracted a League Cup final record crowd of 11,103 at Windsor Park, where Cliftonville won the cup for the sixth time after

1968-810: A play-off or series of play-offs. In 2023 the Northern Ireland Intermediate League announced that it would cease to exist due to a number of clubs deciding to join other regional leagues within the league system, thus leaving three regional leagues below the Premier Intermediate League. In 2013, the Northern Ireland Football League assumed responsibility from the IFA for the Championship, which became two intermediate divisions of

2091-423: A pyramid system was introduced, with the possibility of promotion and relegation between Championship 2 and the four regional intermediate leagues, namely the: Clubs in these leagues may only gain promotion to the Championship if they win their respective league championship and meet the necessary criteria. In the event that more than one league champion meets the criteria, only one will be promoted, to be decided by

2214-698: A separate league and association (the Football Association of the Irish Free State – now called the Football Association of Ireland ) – being formed for the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland ). The league's records from its days in operation as the league for all of Ireland stand as the records for Northern Ireland (as is the case for the Northern Ireland national football team ). In its first season, seven of

2337-552: A simplified version of the city's Foyle Bridge , which had opened 18 months previously, the traditional red and white stripes of the jersey bordered by thin black lines, the year in which the club was founded and a football in the centre representing the club as a footballing entity. The name of the club appeared in Impact font. With the novelty of the Foyle Bridge wearing off over time, the crest lasted until 15 July 1997, when

2460-500: A two-legged relegation-promotion play-off with local rivals , Finn Harps . Derry won 2–1 on aggregate after extra-time at the Brandywell and remained in the top flight, avoiding further damage. With finances secured, the club became the first in Ireland to be awarded a premier UEFA licence in 2004. Derry re-introduced professional football and its form improved, as it finished second in 2005. Derry's 2005 League Cup victory also saw

2583-407: A year earlier in 2012. Three clubs – Cliftonville , Glentoran and Linfield – have retained unbroken membership since 1890: 130 years and 119 seasons (due to eleven suspended seasons). In 1891, the league expanded to ten clubs, but shrank again after only one season to six clubs for the 1892–93 season. Only four clubs competed in 1892–93 and 1893–94, then six clubs for the following season, until

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2706-437: Is 9,800 people who attended an FAI Cup second round tie between Derry and Finn Harps on 23 February 1986. In the Irish League, a crowd of 12,000 attended the 1929–30 season home game against Linfield . Derry City have made numerous appearances in popular culture. In the world of music, the club was given exposure by Derry punk band, The Undertones , which had the cover of its 1980 hit single, " My Perfect Cousin ", feature

2829-778: Is a discussion website run by fans. Derry's fans share a rivalry with the supporters of Finn Harps and sing the Undertones' Teenage Kicks as a terrace anthem. Derry City's UEFA coefficient accumulates to a total value of 4.000 as of August 2023. Current club ranking https://kassiesa.net/uefa/data/method5/trank2024.html Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. 5 – in honour of Ryan McBride 18 – in honour of Mark Farren Peter Hutton holds

2952-456: Is seen as the traditional base of the club, especially the Brandywell area, although the Waterside is also home to a smaller number of supporters. The club are supported mainly by Derry's nationalist community. The connection is argued to be rooted mainly in geography , as well as social, cultural and historical circumstances, as opposed to the club or its fans pushing towards the creation of

3075-514: Is the only occasion in the league's history that the title has been shared. Using the modern award of 3 points for a win, Distillery would have been crowned champions by one point. However, if goal difference had been used instead, Cliftonville would have won the title with a goal difference of +9 compared to Distillery's +7. In the 1992–93 season, Linfield became the first club to win the championship on goal difference, when they finished level on 66 points with Crusaders , but eight goals better with

3198-476: The 2006–07 UEFA Cup second qualifying round is the largest away winning margin for any League of Ireland team in European competition. Derry played a record number of 54 games in the whole 2006 season , including all competitions. Previously, the record had been the 49 games played in all competitions during the treble-winning 1988–89 season. The Brandywell 's record attendance in the League of Ireland system

3321-446: The 2017–18 season , losing just once in 38 league games. A total of 46 different clubs have been members of the senior league since its inception - ten of which have been members for only one season. The newest members are Warrenpoint Town , who joined the league in 2013 for the first time. That was the second consecutive season that a new member club had made its first appearance in the league, following Ballinamallard United 's debut

3444-829: The BetMcLean Cup for sponsorship purposes, and commonly known as the Irish League Cup ) is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Northern Ireland Football League . It is the third-most prestigious competition in domestic Northern Irish football after the NIFL Premiership and Irish Cup . It should not be confused with the Irish League Floodlit Cup which ran from 1987–88 to 1997–98. Unlike

3567-850: The Irish Football Association took direct charge of Northern Ireland's top flight with the creation of the Irish Premier League (IPL). As in England and Scotland , the old Irish Football League retained a separate existence, but controlling only two feeder leagues: the First Division and Second Division. In 2004, the IFA took over control of the remaining IFL divisions and renamed them as the IFA Intermediate League First Division and Second Division, effectively winding up

3690-650: The Irish Football Association : namely the IFA Premiership and both divisions of the IFA Championship. In 2016, the NIFL Championship was given senior status. Listed below are all the senior League members from 1890 up to and including the 2022–23 season in the following competitions: Bold – a current member Italics – a club no longer in existence, or no longer competing in Northern Irish football Between 1995–96 and 2002–03,

3813-575: The Irish Football League upheld a ban on the stadium and Derry decided to leave the league as a result. Only greyhound meetings and junior football were held during this time. Derry's admission to the League of Ireland in 1985 saw a return of senior games. In December 2010 the club introduced a new credit card type season ticket system to ensure abuse of tickets could no longer occur and additionally ensuring more accurate attendance count at matches. They played all their home matches of

Northern Ireland Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue

3936-595: The Irish League B Division (latterly known as the Irish League Second Division ). The B Division of the Irish League was founded in 1951, and originally consisted of the reserve teams of the senior Irish League clubs alongside some of the top intermediate clubs. The B Division was split geographically into North and South sections in 1974 (with a play-off to determine the winners in 1974–75 and 1975–76), and then into Section 1 (containing

4059-599: The Irish League Cup . In the 2009–10 season only, however, while Championship 1 clubs continued to participate in the Irish League Cup, a Championship 2 League Cup was inaugurated for those in Championship 2. From 2010–11 onwards, all Championship clubs from divisions 1 and 2 also competed in the Irish League Cup, and the Championship 2 League Cup was abolished. Northern Ireland Football League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as

4182-498: The Oval , and was contested by Linfield and Crusaders . Linfield became the inaugural winners of the cup, defeating Crusaders 2–1. Since then, Linfield have been the most successful club in the competition, winning the Cup a record 12 times overall in a record 15 final appearances - their three final defeats all coming against Big Two rivals Glentoran. The most common final has indeed been

4305-517: The RUC in the local community, Derry received special permission from UEFA to steward its own games. The presence of the RUC was regarded as more likely to provoke trouble than help prevent it. Derry's first match in the new system was a 3–1 League of Ireland Cup win over Home Farm of Dublin at the Brandywell on 8 September 1985. The return of senior football to Derry attracted large crowds. Later in

4428-436: The Troubles after the League voted narrowly to continue a ban on their home ground imposed by the security forces, even after the security forces had lifted it. Historically, with relatively few league fixtures each season, the Irish League organised a number of other competitions for its members. While some of these once enjoyed considerable prestige, they have been phased out over the years due to fixture congestion caused by

4551-421: The 1964–65 Irish League and subsequently became the first Irish League team to win a European tie over two legs, beating FK Lyn 8–6 on aggregate in the 1965–66 European Cup . Derry did not complete the next round, as the Irish Football Association (IFA) declared its ground was not up to standard, after a game had been played there during the previous round. Derry suspected sectarian motives, as it played in

4674-520: The 2014 final, it returned to the BBC in 2015 after Sky ceased their coverage of Irish League football. Dungannon Swifts' win in the 2018 final was broadcast live on Sky Sports enabling the entire town of Dungannon to enjoy the historical result, Dungannon winning a major trophy for the first time in their history . There have been 37 League Cup finals contested during the competition's history so far, played at six different grounds. Windsor Park has been

4797-486: The 2017 season at Maginn Park in Buncrana due to renovation works at the Brandywell. By Irish standards, Derry City have a relatively large and loyal fan-base. The club was considered among the strongest and best-supported teams in the Irish League, and upon the club's entry into the League of Ireland in 1985, crowds of nearly 10,000 attended to the Brandywell for the return of matches. More recently, Derry City became

4920-461: The Big Two derby, which has occurred seven times - the last of which came in 2005–06 . The 1988–89 final, played between the two sides at the Oval on 11 November 1988 was won courtesy of a goal by Glentoran goalkeeper Alan Patterson, via a kick from his own penalty area. This was the first time that a goalkeeper had ever scored in a British football final. Cliftonville hold the record for

5043-482: The Brandywell. The team played home fixtures 30 miles (48 km) away in Coleraine . The security forces withdrew their objections to the use of the Brandywell the following year, but in the face of insistence from the Irish League that the unsustainable arrangement continue, the club withdrew from the league. After 13 years in junior football, it joined the League of Ireland's new First Division for 1985–86. Derry won

Northern Ireland Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue

5166-427: The Championship 2 League Cup was abolished. From 2001–02 until 2007–08, a group stage followed by a knock-out system was used instead of the straight knock-out system, and for two seasons (2008–09 and 2009–10) two-legged home and away aggregate ties were used up until the quarter-finals, instead of single matches. When it was first introduced in the 1986–87 season, it was one of a number of senior cup competitions run by

5289-526: The City Cemetery in Creggan and parked hired double-decker buses outside the stadium to help them see over the ground's perimeter. The club is known for its community spirit, and the supporters have played a pivotal role in the survival and successes of the club. When debts brought Derry close to extinction in the 2000–01 season, the local community responded en masse to help save the club. During

5412-533: The Derry City Council. Derry City's first game at the Brandywell was a 2–1 loss to Glentoran on 22 August 1929. In 1933, the purchase of Bond's Field in the Waterside was mentioned, but it was thought to be too far away from the fan-base which had built up on the Cityside, especially in the Brandywell area. It also had first option on Derry Celtic's old ground, Celtic Park , but hesitated on

5535-575: The Derry City support-base see football as a means of reinforcing sectarian divides. With the city being a focal point of culture and activity serving the north-west region of Ireland, support stretches beyond the urban border and into the surrounding county ; Limavady , Strabane in nearby County Tyrone and areas of bordering County Donegal contain support. The club has numerous supporter clubs, along with ultra fans , and support beyond Ireland – mainly emigrated city natives. Derry City Chat

5658-531: The EFL, these two seasons did not have an equal number of matches per club). The Irish Football League was originally formed as the football league for, in theory, all of Ireland (although, for cultural reasons , all of its member clubs were in fact based in two zones: initially in what would become Northern Ireland, and, from 1900, in Dublin). It became the league for Northern Ireland in 1921 after partition , with

5781-579: The First Division title and achieved promotion to the Premier Division in 1987, and remained there until an administrative relegation in 2009. The club won a domestic treble in 1988–89 , the only League of Ireland club so far to do so. After spending the majority of its time in the League of Ireland in the Premier Division, the club was expelled in November 2009 when it was discovered there were secondary, unofficial contracts with players. It

5904-529: The Irish Cup for a second time in 1954, beating Glentoran again, and for a third time in 1964 – that year also winning the Gold Cup – despite the club's conversion to part-time status after the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961. This led to the club's first entry into European competition, in the 1964–65 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup , in which it was beaten by Steaua Bucharest 5–0 on aggregate. The club won

6027-801: The Irish Cup, the League Cup does not have a berth for UEFA Conference League qualification. The cup has been operated by the Northern Ireland Football League since the 2013–14 season when it took over the administration from the Irish Football Association (IFA), after which the cup was renamed to the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Cup. Since the 2017–18 season, the Cup has been sponsored by McLean Bookmakers. The competition's previous sponsors are JBE (2015–16), WASP Solutions (2013–14 and 2014–15), Irn Bru (2011–12 and 2012–13), Co-operative Insurance (2001–02 to 2010–11), Coca-Cola (1998–99 to 2000–01), Wilkinson Sword (1991–92 to 1997–98), and Roadferry Freight (1986–87 to 1990–91). Linfield are

6150-695: The Irish Football League after 114 years. The first ever Irish League match to be broadcast live on television took place on 24 September 2007 when Sky Sports showed Cliftonville and Linfield draw 2–2 at Solitude . In 2008, the IFA took over responsibility for the Senior League under the name IFA Premiership , and the IFA Intermediate League was replaced by the IFA Championship . After five years under

6273-691: The Irish Football League, is the second-oldest national league in the world, being formed a week earlier than the Scottish Football League . Only the English Football League is older. (The Dutch Football League formed properly on the same year as the Scottish and Irish leagues, making it the first league in Continental Europe. Although it did have two previous seasons, thus making it equal in duration with

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6396-410: The Irish Football League, which, upon its formation in 1890, was historically the league for the entire island of Ireland until it became Northern Ireland's national league after the partition of Ireland in 1921. Larne are the current champions, after winning the 2022–23 title on 14 April 2023 with a 2–0 win against Crusaders . This was the club's first league title. Originally formed in 1890,

6519-459: The Irish League split in 1921, Glenavon was the only non-Belfast team left. No southern clubs (from what would become the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland ) ever won the championship. The highest place achieved by any of these clubs was second, by Shelbourne in 1906–07. During the 1920s, however, the league expanded and soon achieved a wide geographic spread across Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, no club from outside Belfast won

6642-448: The Irish League, originally to compensate for the relatively few league fixtures (traditionally 22 or 26), but also as vehicles for sponsorship revenue. The League Cup would have been considered less prestigious than the long-standing Gold Cup and Ulster Cup . Over time however, these other cup competitions were phased out as the number of Irish League fixtures increased and the public appetite for additional competitions reduced, leaving

6765-435: The League Cup as the only cup competition run by the Northern Ireland Football League and now established as the third most prestigious competition in Northern Ireland after the national top-flight and national cup. The actual trophy presented to the winners is the old City Cup , which was another senior Irish League competition that was discontinued in 1975. The first final took place on 9 May 1987 at Glentoran 's ground,

6888-423: The League Cup final, emulating Portadown in 2008–09 . Ards' previous final appearance had also been against Cliftonville, when they won the Cup 2–0 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in 1994–95 . Ards also set a record for the longest gap between final appearances of 21 years between 1994–95 and 2015–16. This broke the previous record of 19 years between Newry City 's appearances in 1989–90 and 2008–09 . Following

7011-431: The League championship for the first 62 years of its existence, until Glenavon took it to County Armagh in 1951–52. In 1957–58, Ards became the first team from County Down to win the League, and in 1964–65, Derry City were the first County Londonderry club to do so. Derry City – now of the League of Ireland – played in the Irish League from 1929 until 1972 and won the title in 1965, but eventually resigned during

7134-469: The League had a record twenty clubs in membership. From 1999 to 2002, ten clubs each competed in the Premier and First Divisions and in 2002–03 there were twelve in the Premier Division and eight in the First Division. In 2003, with the creation of the Irish Premier League, the senior league was reduced to a single division of sixteen clubs, although for the first time with relegation to, and promotion from,

7257-688: The League of Ireland by the FAI in November 2009 for breaching the Participation Agreement and dissolved, but a new Derry club using the "Derry City" name joined for 2010 – with the FAI allowing it into the First Division By January 2010 with a new board, the new chairman, Philip O'Doherty was reported to have acquired a new kit deal with Hummel. Additionally, O'Doherty was quoted in the Derry Journal referring to

7380-478: The League was divided into two divisions (the Premier and First Divisions) of eight in 1995, with promotion and relegation between the two. In 1996 the results from the Premier Division and the First Division started to be featured on the Press Association vidiprinter . In 1997, membership increased again to eighteen, with ten in the Premier Division and eight in the First Division. Between 1999 and 2003,

7503-825: The League: Bohemians , Shelbourne and Tritonville . In the early years, Army regiments stationed in Ireland had also participated in the League: the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1891–92; the North Staffordshire Regiment for three seasons from 1896–99; the Royal Scots in 1899–1900 and the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1903–04. Only five and six clubs competed in 1920–21 and from 1921–23 respectively, but expansion began with

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7626-451: The NIFL and was renamed as the NIFL Championship. In 2016, Championship 1 acquired senior status and Championship 2 was renamed as the Premier Intermediate League, thus succeeding the Championship as the top intermediate league in Northern Ireland. Listed below are the 38 member clubs for the 2023–24 season. Country coefficient for 2023–24: Clubs in italics either no longer exist (Belfast Celtic, Queen's Island) or no longer compete for

7749-497: The Waterside, is largely apathetic, though some unionists and loyalists see the club as a symbol of Catholicism and nationalism as a result of the sectarian divide in support. Joining the Republic of Ireland 's league augmented the perception and, on occasion, Protestant hooligans have thrown missiles at Derry's supporter buses as they journeyed to or returned from games across the border. Minor nationalist elements within

7872-482: The admission of four new clubs in 1923, another two in 1924 and a further two in 1927, giving a membership of fourteen from 1927 until the League was suspended in 1940 because of the Second World War. When the League resumed in 1947 it was reduced to twelve clubs, and stayed at this number until 1983 when membership was increased to fourteen. In 1990, a further two clubs brought the membership to sixteen, and

7995-404: The application to play in the First Division: ...I'm confident that we've provided a quality application and we're hopeful that we will secure the necessary UEFA Licence to compete in the First Division. On Monday 15 February 2010, the new Derry City was awarded a First Division licence by the Independent Club Licensing Committee, allowing it eligibility to compete in the 2010 First Division. By

8118-516: The auspices of the IFA, it was decided to create a single Northern Ireland Football League to assume responsibility for all the national leagues from the 2013–14 season. The NIFL Premier Intermediate League , as the highest-level of intermediate football in Northern Ireland, is the successor to the intermediate-status IFA Championship (2008-16), IFA Intermediate League (2004-08), the Irish Football League First Division (2003-04) during its last season (when it had intermediate status), and ultimately

8241-510: The best supported team at an FAI Cup Final ever, when over 20,000 Derry supporters attended the 2022 FAI Cup Final, in which Derry overcame Shelbourne. Derry's average home attendance of 3,127 was the highest of any team for the 2006 season. The highest attendance was the last-night-of-the-season meeting between Derry and Cork City at the Brandywell on Friday 17 November when 6,080 watched Derry win 1–0. Domestically, Derry's supporters travel to away games in "bus-loads". They gave large support in

8364-481: The castle dungeons in 1332. This is accompanied by the Latin motto, " Vita, veritas, victoria ", meaning "Life, truth, victory." In April 1986 the club ran a competition in local schools to design a crest for them. The winning entry was designed by John Devlin, a St. Columb's College student, and was introduced on 5 May 1986 as Derry hosted Nottingham Forest for a friendly, with Liam Nelis and Paul Gormley (on his fifth birthday) acting as mascots. The crest depicted

8487-413: The city. Derry City was granted entry into the Irish League in 1929 as professionals and was given permission by the Londonderry Corporation to use the municipal Brandywell Stadium. The club's first significant success came in 1935 when it lifted the City Cup . It repeated the feat in 1937, but did not win another major trophy until 1949, when it beat Glentoran to win its first Irish Cup . It won

8610-399: The city. Today, the club, like the city, looks to the future with great hope. For all its successes, Derry City would be nothing without the people of the city. Support for the club is quite dependent on geography and crosses social boundaries. Fans come from both working class areas, such as the Brandywell area and Bogside , and more affluent regions of the city, like Culmore . The Cityside

8733-419: The club alive. Derry is a close-knit place, a small community, they care about their club and that's why we still have a club. And every bit of success we may get this season is down to them. Likewise, former Social Democratic and Labour Party leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume , who was the club's president, stated in 1998 of the club's relationship with the community: Derry City F.C. has been

8856-426: The club qualify for the cross-border Setanta Cup for the first time in 2006. It entered the 2006–07 UEFA Cup 's preliminary rounds, beating IFK Göteborg and Gretna to reach the first round where it faced Paris Saint-Germain ; after a home 0–0 draw it lost 2–0 away. Derry finished second again in 2006, but went on to win the FAI Cup and League Cup double . It qualified for the 2007 Setanta Cup , as well as

8979-432: The club record for matches played in League of Ireland football with a total of more than 660 appearances for Derry City, a club record. As of 16 July 2007, Paul Curran has made the second highest number of appearances for the club in the League of Ireland with 518, followed by Sean Hargan with 408 since 1995. The club's all-time highest goal-scorer is Jimmy Kelly with 363 goals between 1930 and 1951. Since

9102-465: The club's 2006 UEFA Cup run – around 3,000 travelled to Motherwell and "maintained a wall of sound" as Derry beat Gretna 5–1 at Fir Park , and "some 3,000" went to Paris to see Derry play Paris Saint-Germain in the Parc des Princes . During the home legs, ticketless fans desperate to see the games watched from a distance while standing on the high vantage point overlooking the Brandywell offered by

9225-648: The club's history, but in 1969 the Civil Rights campaign disintegrated into communal violence, which were followed by 30 years of the Troubles . Despite the social and political unrest, Derry reached the Irish Cup final in 1971, in which it was beaten 3–0 by Distillery . As the republican locality surrounding the Brandywell saw some of the worst violence, numerous unionist-supported clubs were reluctant to play there. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) ruled

9348-748: The club's players wore amber and black. Jerseys since 1962 have had "candystripes" of varying thickness. The kit features white socks – originally black socks were used and occasionally red if a clash with the opposition occurred. Similarly, white shorts were adopted for a spell in the early 1970s and for 1985. They are still sometimes worn if a clash occurs, as are black socks. Away jerseys have varied in colour from white, to navy and green stripes, to yellow, to white and light-blue stripes, and to black. Derry have had various kit suppliers, including Adidas , Avec , Erreà , Fila , Le Coq Sportif , Matchwinner , Umbro , Spall O'Neills , Hummel , and, currently, O'Neills . Commercial sponsorship logos to appear on

9471-515: The club's successful 2006 season, club captain, Peter Hutton said: Nobody owns Derry City F.C. apart from the people of Derry. Five or six years ago the club was on its knees, on the verge of going out of business. There was no sugar-daddy, no millionaire, no Roman Abramovich to save the club. It was the people and the city who saved the club. People, fans, ordinary people; they went out and banged on doors to collect money, they went around pubs with collection buckets, they did what they could to keep

9594-456: The competition use a knock-out system consisting of one-legged ties. In the event that the scores are level after 90 minutes, extra time is played, and if the teams are still level after 120 minutes there is a penalty shoot-out . The 14 NIFL Premier Intermediate League clubs enter the preliminary round draw, with 12 of them being drawn to face each other in six ties and the remaining two clubs receiving byes. The six preliminary round winners and

9717-483: The conclusion of the 1960–61 competition, as fixture congestion meant that the cup could not be completed before the end of the previous season. The record for consecutive league titles is six, which has been achieved by two clubs. Belfast Celtic won five consecutive titles between 1935–36 and 1939–40, before the suspension of the league in 1940 due to World War II . On the resumption of the league in 1947–48 they won their sixth consecutive title, albeit eight years after

9840-466: The cross, demonstrate the link between the two cities – the city's official name under UK law is Londonderry and the city itself was developed by The Honourable The Irish Society , a livery company of the City of London. The castle is thought to be an old local Norman keep built in 1305 by the de Burca clan . The skeleton is believed to be that of a knight of the same clan who was starved to death in

9963-479: The current holders, after they defeated Portadown 3–1 in the 2024 final to win the competition for the second successive season and a record-extending 12th time overall. Portadown finished as runners-up after their first appearance in the final since 2011. Unlike the Irish Cup , the League Cup is restricted to the 38 Northern Ireland Football League clubs competing in the NIFL Premiership , NIFL Championship , and NIFL Premier Intermediate League . All rounds of

10086-411: The current one was unveiled at Lansdowne Road with the meeting of Derry City and Celtic during a pre-season friendly tournament. The modern crest also features a centred football, the year of founding and the club's name in a contemporary sans-serif font – Industria Solid . The famous red and white stripes are present along with a red mass of colour filling the left half of the crest, separated from

10209-402: The eight teams came from Belfast , and the league – and Irish football – continued to be dominated by Belfast clubs for many years. In 1892, Derry Olympic became the second non-Belfast side, but only lasted for one season. In 1900, Derry Celtic joined the league and, in 1901, a second Derry team, St Columb's Court , was added. St Columb's Court lasted just one season, before being replaced by

10332-550: The end of October 2010 Derry had clinched the First Division title and with it, promotion back to the premier division after winning 1–0 away at Monaghan United in the last game of the season. Derry's top goalscorer that season, Mark Farren , who finished with a tally of 20 goals, scored the winner against Monaghan before retiring from football for medical reasons as he sought to fight a benign tumour located in his brain. Farren died of cancer in February 2016 and his number 18 shirt

10455-489: The end of the 2015–16 season, the Championship acquired senior status and the league reverted to two senior divisions, with promotion and relegation between those divisions, and between the second senior tier (the Championship) and the top intermediate division below (now NIFL Premier Intermediate League ). † Elected to senior football ‡ Promoted to senior football ‡ Promoted to senior football In 1982,

10578-448: The entry of the club into League of Ireland football, Mark Farren is Derry's top scorer with 114 goals after 209 competitive appearances for the club between 2003 and 2012. Derry's first ever scorer was Peter Burke at home to Glentoran on 22 August 1929 as the club lost 2–1. Two days later, Sammy Curran had the honour of scoring Derry's first hat-trick , as the club came back from 5 to 1 down away to Portadown , only to lose 6–5 to

10701-815: The expansion of the league, and reduced spectator interest. These competitions were: the City Cup ; the Gold Cup ; the Ulster Cup and the Irish League Floodlit Cup . In addition, clubs still compete in their respective regional cup competitions: the County Antrim Shield (for clubs within the jurisdiction of the North-East Ulster F.A., also known as the County Antrim & District F.A.); the Mid-Ulster Cup (for clubs within

10824-468: The feat of winning seven trophies; the Irish League, Irish Cup ; City Cup , Gold Cup ; County Antrim Shield ; Belfast Charities Cup and Alhambra Cup. In 1961–62, the club achieved a similar feat, winning six trophies; the Irish League; Irish Cup ; City Cup , Gold Cup ; Ulster Cup and County Antrim Shield . They also lifted the North-South Cup as a seventh trophy, however that was actually

10947-486: The fifth. Linfield are the only club to achieve six consecutive titles without a hiatus, from 1981–82 to 1986–87. The longest gap between title wins is the 88 years separating Cliftonville 's wins in 1909–10 and 1997–98. A total of 12 different clubs have won the championship, Linfield holding the record for the most wins (56). In the 1905–06 season, the championship title was shared after Cliftonville and Distillery could not be separated after two play-off matches. This

11070-414: The final venue for the first time in the competition's history. In the 2015–16 competition , Cliftonville became the first club ever to reach four consecutive League Cup finals, and subsequently to win four consecutive Cups, after they defeated Ards 3–0 in the final. Ards were appearing in the final for the third time overall, and became only the second club from outside the top flight ever to reach

11193-491: The home-ground of Linfield. From September 1971 until October 1972 Derry was forced to play all its "home" games at the Showgrounds in mainly Protestant Coleraine , over 30 miles (48 km) away, as police ruled the republican Brandywell area as too unsafe for visiting unionists, who themselves made up at least half of Derry City's own fanbase at that time. The Brandywell did not see senior football for another 13 years as

11316-465: The intermediate clubs) and Section 2 (the reserve teams of senior clubs) in 1977. In 1999, the B Division Section 1 was renamed as the Irish League Second Division , and Section 2 became the Reserve League . There was never any automatic promotion and relegation between either the B Division or Second Division and the senior Irish League. In 2003, the Irish Premier League was formed by

11439-632: The jurisdiction of the Mid-Ulster F.A.); and the North West Senior Cup (for clubs within the jurisdiction of the North-Western F.A.). From 1995–96 until 2002–03, the senior League was split into two divisions: the Premier Division and First Division. From 2003-16, there was a single division, albeit with relegation to intermediate leagues below, and from 2016 there are two senior divisions (Premiership and Championship). In 2003,

11562-541: The last club to finish an entire league season unbeaten, when they won the 1980–81 Irish League title by two points after completing 22 league games without defeat. They again came close in the 1991–92 Irish League season, losing only once in 30 league games. Linfield also came close in the 2003–04 Irish Premier League season, when they too lost just one league game all season. Across the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, Linfield lost just two out of 60 league games in two seasons - one in each season. Coleraine also came close in

11685-517: The league amidst a perception that it was effectively forced out. The club continued as a junior team during the 13-year-long 'wilderness years', playing in the local Saturday morning league, and sought re-admission to the Irish League. Each time, the club nominated the Brandywell as its chosen home ground but the Irish League refused re-admission. Suspecting refusal was driven by sectarianism, and believing it would never gain re-admission, Derry turned its attentions elsewhere. Derry applied to join

11808-434: The league was split into two divisions, with promotion and relegation between the two as follows. At the end of the 2002–03 season, the league was reformed as the single-division Irish Premier League. Four clubs were relegated to intermediate football, and from then until 2014-15 there was relegation and promotion between a single senior Irish League division and the top intermediate league below (now NIFL Championship ). At

11931-530: The league's first Dublin team, Bohemians , in 1902. Another Dublin side, Shelbourne , was added in 1904. In 1911 Glenavon , from the County Armagh town of Lurgan replaced Bohemians, who resigned from the league, but were re-admitted in 1912. During 1912 there were three Dublin sides, with the addition of Tritonville, but, like Derry Olympic and St Columb's Court before them, they lasted just one season. Derry Celtic also dropped out in 1913, so that when

12054-592: The linchpin in the life of the community in Derry since its foundation in 1928. Throughout the club's history, the Candystripes have provided a sporting outlet for young people and older supporters alike. The history of the club is intertwined with that of its city. It has seen struggle and marginalisation turn to renewal and success. The pride people have in this club reflects the pride we hold in our city. Derry City players and supporters alike are superb ambassadors for

12177-461: The longer journey) and dire finances, the club formally requested permission to return to the Brandywell. Despite a new assessment by the security forces concluding that the Brandywell was no longer any more dangerous than any other league ground and a lifting of the security ban, Derry's proposal fell by one vote at the hands of its fellow Irish League teams. Continuing without a ground was seen as unsustainable and on 13 October 1972 Derry withdrew from

12300-542: The most common venue, having hosted 26 finals. Derry City F.C. Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry , Northern Ireland . They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division , the top tier of league football in the Republic of Ireland , and are the League of Ireland 's only participant from Northern Ireland. The club's home ground is the Brandywell Stadium and

12423-418: The most consecutive wins, having won four successive finals between 2013 and 2016. Fifteen different clubs have reached the final, but only twelve clubs have gone on to win the cup - and only six of those have won the cup more than once. Carrick Rangers (once), along with Larne and Newry City (twice each) are the only three clubs to have played in the final but never won the Cup. Conversely, three clubs have

12546-454: The players wear red and white striped shirts from which their nickname, the Candystripes , derives. The club are also known as the Red and White Army , Derry or City . The club, founded in 1928, initially played in the Irish League , the domestic league in Northern Ireland, and won a title in 1964–65 . In 1971, security concerns related to the Troubles meant matches could not be played at

12669-406: The preliminary rounds of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League , and was accepted into the restructured Premier Division for 2007. The club had a disappointing league campaign in 2007, finishing seventh despite being pre-season favourites. It did manage to win its eighth League Cup , though, thanks to a 1–0 victory over Bohemians at the Brandywell. The club, by owing huge debts, was expelled from

12792-523: The reorganised League of Ireland (the league in the Republic of Ireland) in 1985 with the Brandywell as its home. The move required special dispensation from the IFA and FIFA , but eventually Derry was admitted to the league's new First Division for 1985, joining as semi-professionals. As its stadium was situated in a staunchly republican area once known as " Free Derry ", with a history of scepticism towards

12915-454: The right by a white stripe. Known cultural landmarks or items associated with the city are absent from the minimalist design. The crests have always been positioned over the heart on the home jerseys. Derry City's home ground is the municipal Brandywell Stadium, situated just south-west of the Bogside in the Brandywell area of Derry . It is often abbreviated to "the Brandywell" and is also

13038-410: The same two clubs have met in consecutive finals. Linfield and Glentoran have done so three times: 1997–98 & 1998–99 , 2001–02 & 2002–03 and 2004–05 & 2005–06 , while Cliftonville and Crusaders repeated the feat in 2012–13 and 2013–14 . Both clubs agreed to toss a coin for home advantage in the 2013–14 final, with Cliftonville winning the toss. As a result, Solitude was chosen as

13161-469: The season, after turning professional, it won the League of Ireland First Division Shield with a 6–1 aggregate victory over Longford Town . The following year – 1987 – Derry won the First Division and promotion to the Premier Division, staying there since. The club reached the 1988 FAI Cup final, but lost to Dundalk . The next season – 1988–89 – the club was financially forced to revert to semi-professional status but Jim McLaughlin's side managed to win

13284-456: The second round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The competition began with 32 clubs in a straight knock-out format in February 1987, and included teams from the Irish League B Division until 1997–98. From 1998–99 until 2007–08, only senior ( Irish League and Irish Premier League ) teams competed, but the competition was opened up to the 17 Championship clubs in 2008–09, and again in 2010–11 to include clubs from Championship 2, after

13407-603: The shirt's front have included Northlands, Warwick Wallpapers, Fruit of the Loom , Smithwick's and AssetCo. Logos to have appeared on the sleeve have included the Trinity Hotel, Tigi Bed Head and Tigi Catwalk. For 2007, the logos of local media, Q102.9 and the Derry News , appeared on the back of the shirt just below the neck, along with the logo of Meteor Electrical on the jersey's front. The club did not sport

13530-407: The title (Derry City). The first Irish League champions were Linfield , and the first runners-up were Ulster . Of the 122 completed championships, the title has only been taken out of Belfast on eleven occasions. The last club to do so was Larne in 2022–23 season. The clubs first Irish league title. 21 years since Portadown did so in 2001-02 season. In 1921–22, Linfield famously achieved

13653-639: The top sixteen senior teams in the senior Irish League (which, since 1995 had been divided into a Premier Division and a First Division). The four remaining senior teams reverted to intermediate football, along with the top eight teams from the previous year's Second Division - in the Irish League First Division (which now became the top intermediate league), with the Second Division continuing with twelve teams. Automatic promotion and relegation between senior and intermediate football

13776-417: The two clubs that received byes then join the 24 NIFL Premiership and Championship clubs in the first round. The 16 highest-ranked clubs from the previous season's league system are then seeded in the first round to avoid drawing each other. The first round is the only round of the competition in which seeding is used. From there on the competition uses an open draw with a standard knock-out format, consisting of

13899-407: The zone unsafe for fixtures. With no other feasible local ground available, Derry had to travel to the majority unionist town of Coleraine , over 30 miles (48 km) away, to play its "home" games at the Showgrounds . This situation lasted from September 1971 until October 1972 when, faced with dwindling crowds (most Derry fans were unwilling to travel to Coleraine due to the political situation and

14022-403: Was also an IFA Interim Intermediate League for those former members of the IFA Intermediate League which had failed to meet the criteria for the Championship. These clubs were given a year to make improvements in order to join the Championship for 2009–10. Ten of the 12 clubs succeeded in meeting the necessary standard in 2009 and the Championship was then divided into two divisions. In 2010–11,

14145-601: Was also the first final to be played outside Belfast, with Mourneview Park , Lurgan hosting the match. It was attended by UEFA President Michel Platini and Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington who was in Northern Ireland for the FIFA meeting held in Newcastle . The biggest winning margin ever recorded in a final is 4–0, which has occurred twice: in 1999–2000 when Linfield defeated Coleraine , and in 2012–13 when Cliftonville defeated Crusaders. On four occasions,

14268-473: Was approached for the use of the Brandywell which had been used for football up until the end of the 19th century. It agreed and the club still operates under the constraints of The Honourable The Irish Society charter limitations which declare that the Brandywell must be available for the recreation of the community. In effect, the club does not have private ownership and, thus, cannot develop by its own accord, with that discretion or whether to sell being left to

14391-557: Was constructed in 1991, while development on the still-insufficient facilities has been delayed numerous times and had yet to take place as of the end of the 2016 season. Plans of Derry City's to purchase a pitch fell through after its formation due to the tight time-scale between its foundation in 1928 and the season's beginning in 1929 and so the Londonderry Corporation (now the Derry City Council)

14514-428: Was introduced. There was also automatic promotion and relegation between the two divisions of the (now intermediate-status) Irish League. In 2004, the Irish Football League was wound up and replaced by the IFA Intermediate League , consisting of two divisions of twelve, with promotion and relegation between the two. This continued for four seasons, until the Championship was created. For one season only, 2008–09, there

14637-502: Was on the verge of bankruptcy due to an unpaid tax bill in 2000. An extensive fund-raising effort was undertaken by local celebrities and the city's people to save the club from extinction. Derry played high-profile friendlies against clubs such as Celtic , Manchester United , Barcelona and Real Madrid to raise extra money. This helped keep the club in operation, but difficulties remained and Derry nearly lost its Premier Division place in 2003 when it finished ninth and had to contest

14760-434: Was reinstated a few weeks later but demoted to the First Division, the second tier, from where it made its way back to the Premier Division. Founded in 1928, the club decided against using the controversial official title of the city – Londonderry – in its name, while also deciding against continuing the name of the city's previous main club, Derry Celtic , so as to be more inclusive to all identities and football fans in

14883-694: Was replaced by the now-traditional red and white "candystripes" with black shorts in 1934. The style derived from Sheffield United , who wore the pattern and, specifically, Billy Gillespie , a native of nearby County Donegal . He played for Sheffield United from 1913 until 1932, captaining them to a 1925 FA Cup win. The club's most capped player with 25 appearances for Ireland , he was held in such high regard in his home country that when he left Sheffield United in 1932 to become Derry's player-manager , they changed their strip within two years in appreciation of his career at Sheffield United. Derry have worn red and white stripes since, except from 1956 to 1962, when

15006-567: Was retired by the club. "Twenty goals (in the season) and he's had to deal with so much going through his mind about his future health, never mind his footballing career. He's been unbelievably courageous, I don't think people realise how brave he's been, although certainly all the players do." —Derry City manager Stephen Kenny . Derry City wore Aston Villa Football Club 's famous claret and blue jerseys with white shorts for its first season – 1929–30. The colours lasted until 1932, when white jerseys with black shorts were adopted. This style

15129-521: Was to Longford Town in January 1986 – the score was 5–1. The club's record League of Ireland win was 9–1 against Galway United in October 1986. The club has only suffered relegation in the Irish League due to a breach of regulations, in 2009. Derry are the only League of Ireland team to have completed a treble, in the 1988–89 season. Derry's 5–1 away win against Gretna at Fir Park , Motherwell in

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