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96-586: [REDACTED] Look up nifl in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. NIFL may refer to: Northern Ireland Football League National Indoor Football League Nifl (mist), as in Niflheim (Mist World) of Norse mythology Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title NIFL . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

192-645: A qualifier for UEFA Euro 2008 , with Healy scoring a hat-trick. In June 2007, Nigel Worthington was named manager in the place of Lawrie Sanchez, who took over at Fulham . Initially, Worthington took over until the end of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, but was later given a contract until the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers . Michael O'Neill became manager in February 2012 after Worthington had resigned in October 2011 after

288-491: 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

384-401: A 1–0 loss against Germany in the group stage. That was enough to qualify for a Round of 16 spot where they lost 1–0 to Wales due to an unfortunate own goal by Gareth McAuley. Northern Ireland play their home matches at Windsor Park, Belfast , home of Linfield , which they have use of on a 108-year lease, giving the owners 15% of revenue, including gate receipts and TV rights. There was

480-503: A 1–4 loss to Norway in a friendly in February 2004. The run of 16 games without a win ended after his second game, a 1–0 victory in a friendly over Estonia , with a largely experimental side, in March 2004. On 7 September 2005, Northern Ireland beat England 1–0 in a 2006 World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park . David Healy scored the winner in the 73rd minute. Almost a year later, on 6 September 2006, Northern Ireland defeated Spain 3–2 in

576-564: 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 was introduced. There

672-605: A World Cup finals match, and to have progressed from the first round of the World Cup finals. Captain of the national side at the 1958 World Cup was Danny Blanchflower , who also captained Tottenham Hotspur in the English league and was twice footballer of the year in England. His younger brother Jackie was also a key member of the national team, and won two league titles in England with Manchester United , until his career

768-532: A historic 1–0 win and top the first stage group. A 2–2 draw with Austria at the Vicente Calderón Stadium meant that a win against France would take them into the semi-finals, however, a French team inspired by Michel Platini won 4–1 and eliminated Northern Ireland from the competition. They also qualified for the 1986 World Cup where they went out in the Group stages . Billy Bingham ,

864-478: 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

960-615: 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

1056-615: A list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.    Win    Draw    Loss    Fixture Last updated after match against [REDACTED]   Luxembourg on 18 November 2024. Statistics include official FIFA recognised matches only The following players were called up for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against [REDACTED]   Belarus and [REDACTED]   Luxembourg on 15 and 18 November 2024 respectively. Caps and goals updated as of 18 November 2024, after

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1152-607: A major development, with links to both George Best Belfast City Airport and the Bangor railway line . The development would also include a hotel, and retail/leisure areas. The stadium itself would be used for both football and rugby union , with Glentoran and Ulster Rugby intended as tenants. Ulster GAA , however, who were a partner in the Maze proposal, stated that in the event of a new stadium being built in East Belfast, which

1248-507: A member of the 1958 squad, was manager for both of these tournaments. They have not qualified for any other World Cups since. Lawrie Sanchez was appointed in January 2004 after a run of 13 games without a goal under the previous manager Sammy McIlroy , which was a European record for any international team until San Marino went over 20 games without scoring between October 2008 and August 2012. That run ended after his first game in charge,

1344-579: 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

1440-518: A new headquarters facility for the IFA. In February 2013, planning permission for the redevelopment was granted. The cost of the project was estimated to be around £29.2 million, of which £25.2 million would come from government funding. It was initially planned for the work to begin in September 2013. Two months later, however, Irish Premiership club Crusaders began legal proceedings to have

1536-762: 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

1632-471: A poor Euro 2012 qualification campaign. The Northern Ireland team qualified for its first ever UEFA European Championship, Euro 2016 in France after 30 years without qualifying for a major tournament, after beating Greece 3–1 at Windsor Park on 8 October 2015. At the tournament, Northern Ireland were beaten 1–0 by Poland on 20 June 2016 followed by a 2–0 win against Ukraine on 16 June 2016 and finally

1728-556: A proposal to build a multisports stadium for Northern Ireland at the disused Maze prison outside Lisburn for the use of Rugby , Gaelic games and football. This plan was given an "in principle" go-ahead by the Irish Football Association. However, it was opposed by fans, over 85% of whom in a match day poll conducted by the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs ("AONISC") preferred to stay at

1824-423: 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

1920-469: A smaller new or redeveloped ground in the city of Belfast. The AONISC organised a protest against the move to the Maze at the game against Estonia in March 2006. The issue assumed ever greater urgency by 2007, following a series of inspections which questioned the suitability of Windsor Park to host international football. Following a reduction of capacity due to the closure of the Railway Stand,

2016-529: A study with two proposals, of which the major one would be a £20 million rebuilding of the stadium, raising the spectator capacity to 20,000. In 2011, the Northern Ireland Executive allocated £138 million for a major programme of stadium redevelopment throughout Northern Ireland, with £28 million allocated to the redevelopment of Windsor Park. In June 2012, further details of the stadium's redevelopment were released. The plan

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2112-509: A traditional symbolic colour for Ireland. The azure blue comes from St. Patrick's blue , which was adopted as the colour of the Anglo-Irish Order of St Patrick . While green is recognised at the de-facto national colour for Ireland, azure blue is still found in symbols of both the state and the island . The kit has been manufactured by Adidas since 2012. Prior to this, the kit was manufactured by Umbro. The Green and White Army

2208-407: 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

2304-483: Is a major unionist area, their preference would then be to remain at Casement Park in nationalist west Belfast . The IFA were initially non-committal about any of the proposals for improving their facilities, be it rebuilding Windsor Park, or supporting either the Maze or Sydenham proposals. In September 2009, however, they issued an announcement in favour of the redevelopment of Windsor Park. Although there were no specifics to this, Linfield had previously released

2400-523: Is the name given to the fans that follow the Northern Ireland national football team. Since the defeat of England in 2005, there has been an increased demand for tickets exceeding supply. Tongue-in-cheek songs such as "We're not Brazil , we're Northern Ireland" (sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic , an American Civil War song), "It's Just Like Watching Brazil" and "Stand up for

2496-514: 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

2592-446: 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

2688-401: The 2018 World Cup , including Northern Ireland games, between 2014 and 2017. In 2015, BBC Northern Ireland acquired the live rights to show Northern Ireland's friendlies in the run-up to UEFA Euro 2016 , but the next two subsequent home friendlies against Croatia and New Zealand were shown on Premier Sports / eirSport until the contract ended before the 2018 World Cup . The following is

2784-628: 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 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

2880-705: The Football Association of Ireland , emerged in Dublin in 1921 and organised a separate league and international team. In 1923, at a time when the home nations had withdrawn from FIFA , the FAI was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State on the condition that it changed its name to the Football Association of the Irish Free State. The Irish FA continued to organise its national team on an all-Ireland basis. Between 1928 and 1946,

2976-1014: 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 the jurisdiction of the Mid-Ulster F.A.); and the North West Senior Cup (for clubs within

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3072-730: 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,

3168-775: 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 national football team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in men's international association football . From 1882 to 1950, all of Ireland

3264-653: The Mestalla Stadium in Valencia . They faced a partisan atmosphere with a mostly Spanish crowd and a Spanish -speaking referee in Héctor Ortiz who was unwilling to punish dirty play from the Spanish players. A mistake from Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada , however, gifted Gerry Armstrong the only goal of the game, and despite having Mal Donaghy sent off on 60 minutes, Northern Ireland went on to record

3360-507: 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 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

3456-420: The same FIFA World Cup tournament . After complaints from the FAI, FIFA intervened and restricted players' eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland. Until the 1950s, the major competition for Northern Ireland/Ireland

3552-618: 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 the top sixteen senior teams in the senior Irish League (which, since 1995 had been divided into

3648-594: The Brussels International Supporters Award for their charity work, general good humour and behaviour and efforts to stamp out sectarianism. Representatives of the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs received the award from UEFA and EU representatives prior to the Northern Ireland–Spain game at Windsor Park in September 2006. Northern Ireland Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure , Carál Ní Chuilín ,

3744-460: The IFA made it known that they wished to terminate their contract for the use of the stadium. A report on health and safety in October 2007 indicated that the South Stand might have to be closed for internationals, which would further reduce the stadium's capacity to 9,000. In April 2008, Belfast City Council announced that they had commissioned Drivers Jonas to conduct a feasibility study into

3840-606: 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 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

3936-514: The IFA were not affiliated to FIFA and the two Ireland teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. On 8 March 1950, however, in a 0–0 draw with Wales at the Racecourse Ground in a FIFA World Cup qualifier , the IFA fielded a team that included four players who were born in the Irish Free State. All four players had previously played for the FAI in their qualifiers and as a result had played for two different associations in

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4032-413: The IFA which had seen slow progress in the previous two years. Steps taken to eradicate the sectarian element within the support have been successful. Lennon has been quick to praise these initiatives. He also praised the "Football For All" Outstanding Achievement Award Winner Stewart MacAfee for the work he has done to create a more inclusive atmosphere at international games. People like Stewart are

4128-702: The Irish FA also changed its rules governing the selection of non-resident players. Before then the Ireland team selected its players exclusively from the Irish League, in particular the three Belfast-based clubs Linfield , Cliftonville and Distillery . On 4 March 1899, for the match against Wales, McAteer included four Irish players based in England. The change in policy produced dividends as Ireland won 1–0. Three weeks later, on 25 March, one of these four players, Archie Goodall , aged 34 years and 279 days, became

4224-443: 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 the intermediate clubs) and Section 2 (the reserve teams of senior clubs) in 1977. In 1999,

4320-600: 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,

4416-478: 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,

4512-825: 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

4608-795: 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 the Irish Football League, which, upon its formation in 1890,

4704-451: 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

4800-524: The Ulstermen" are popular at home matches. One of the first footballing celebrities was former Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer George Best . The 1968 European Footballer of the Year , Best won 37 caps and scored 9 goals for his country. Leading up to the Euro 2016 , YouTuber Sean Kennedy released the song "Will Grigg's on Fire", a parody about Northern Irish national Will Grigg to

4896-634: The World Cup in 1986 . On 18 February 1882, 15 months after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against England , losing 13–0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield in Belfast . This remains the record defeat for the team, and also England's largest winning margin. On 25 February 1882, Ireland played their second international, against Wales at the Racecourse Ground , Wrexham, and an equaliser from Johnston became Ireland's first ever goal. In 1884, Ireland competed in

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4992-482: 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

5088-613: The building of a Sports Stadium in Belfast which could accommodate international football, which was followed at the beginning of May 2008 by speculation that the Maze Stadium project was going to be radically revised by Peter Robinson , the finance and personnel minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly , so that any construction might be used for purposes other than football, rugby union and Gaelic games. Given

5184-483: 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

5280-630: 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 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,

5376-545: The director of football development at the IFA, recalled how the team struggled to even get a sponsor for their kit because the image of Northern Irish football was so poor. Attendance at matches was low; at a 1999 game against France, then reigning World Cup champions, IFA could not sell out the ground and there were problems with "sectarian singing and racist abuse." Neil Lennon , a Roman Catholic Celtic player who had been subject to sectarian abuse from Northern Ireland fans while playing for Northern Ireland in Windsor Park,

5472-428: 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,

5568-400: The entirety of the football family". In September 2013, sports minister Carál Ní Chuilín said that she was still committed to making sure the redevelopment went ahead as scheduled, after previously stating that she would not sign off on the funding until the IFA resolved "governance issues" surrounding David Martin's return to the role of deputy president. In December 2013, three months after

5664-404: 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

5760-486: 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

5856-420: The first senior Sinn Féin representative to attend an international at Windsor Park, commended "the very real efforts that have been made by the IFA to tackle sectarianism at their matches" after a match in August 2011. Twenty years after Lennon's resignation, Northern Ireland international games regularly sell out and women and children were "noticeable" amongst the spectators. Premier Sports currently have

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5952-413: 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 the Troubles after the League voted narrowly to continue a ban on their home ground imposed by the security forces, even after

6048-408: 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 the Irish League B Division (latterly known as the Irish League Second Division ). The B Division of

6144-630: The inaugural British Home Championship and lost all three games. Ireland did not win their first game until 19 February 1887, a 4–1 win over Wales in Belfast. Between their debut and this game, they had a run of 14 defeats and 1 draw, the longest run without a win in the 1800s. Despite the end of this run, heavy defeats continued. On 3 March 1888, they lost 11–0 to Wales and three weeks later, on 24 March, lost 10–2 to Scotland . Further heavy defeats came on 15 March 1890 when they lost 9–1 to England, on 18 February 1899 when they lost 13–2 to England and on 2 February 1901 when they lost 11–0 to Scotland. In 1899,

6240-436: 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, the Irish Football Association took direct charge of Northern Ireland's top flight with

6336-541: 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

6432-434: 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

6528-410: 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 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

6624-415: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NIFL&oldid=1209146669 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Northern Ireland Football League In addition to the league divisions,

6720-432: The match against [REDACTED]   Luxembourg . The following players have been called up to the Northern Ireland squad during the last 12 months. = Player withdrew due to a positive COVID test or from being in close contact with someone with a positive COVID test. = Withdrew due to an injury. = Preliminary squad / standby. = Retired from the national team. = Serving suspension. = Player withdrew from

6816-411: The oldest player to score in international football during the 19th century when he scored Ireland's goal in a 9–1 defeat to Scotland. In 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland . In 1922, Southern Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State , later to become a republic under the name of Ireland . Amid these political upheavals, a rival football association,

6912-451: The process judicially reviewed. As owners of the site, rivals Linfield were in line to receive not only a redeveloped stadium, but also £200,000 per annum from the IFA in land rent instead of the existing agreement which entitled Linfield to 15% of match revenue. Crusaders believed this to be against European Union competition law as well as a form of state aid towards Linfield. In a hearing that took place on 22 May 2013, Crusaders' request

7008-474: The quarter-final stage in the 1958 and 1982 tournaments. Northern Ireland held the accolade of being the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup Finals from their first appearance in 1958 until 2006, when Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup . At UEFA Euro 2016 , the team made its first appearance at the European tournament and reached the round of 16. Northern Ireland last qualified for

7104-448: The quarter-finals after beating Czechoslovakia 2–1 in the play-off. They were knocked out by France , losing 4–0. In the 1958 competition, Northern Ireland became the least populous country to have qualified for the World Cup, a record that stood until Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2006 World Cup . Northern Ireland remains, however, the least populous country to have qualified for more than one World Cup finals tournament, to win

7200-534: The rights to home games were sold to Sky in 2007. In May 2013, Sky acquired the rights to all Northern Ireland qualifying games for UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup . From 2008 to 2013, BBC Northern Ireland held the rights to highlights of all of Northern Ireland's home international qualifiers. But in May 2013, ITV secured a deal to show highlights of the European Qualifiers for Euro 2016 and

7296-473: The rights to show all of Northern Ireland's competitive international fixtures up until 2024. Highlights of qualifiers are shown on BBC Northern Ireland with rights to World Cup Finals and European Championships held jointly by BBC and ITV - both channels shared coverage of Northern Ireland's games at Euro 2016 . Dating from the 1960s, Northern Ireland's games were shown live on BBC Northern Ireland , with highlights on network BBC via Sportsnight until

7392-508: 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 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

7488-464: 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 the expansion of the league, and reduced spectator interest. These competitions were: the City Cup ;

7584-767: The separate Republic of Ireland national football team . Although part of the United Kingdom , Northern Ireland has always had a representative side that plays in major professional tournaments – whether alongside the rest of Ireland pre-1922 or as its own entity – though not in the Olympic Games, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has always recognised United Kingdom representative sides, and currently Northern Irish athletes compete for Great Britain . Northern Ireland has competed in three FIFA World Cups , reaching

7680-492: The time that is needed to build a new stadium, in the absence of significant work improving Windsor Park, it seemed to be likely that Northern Ireland might be forced to play their home games at a venue outside Northern Ireland for a period. In March 2009, proposals were announced for the construction of a new 25,000-seat stadium in the Sydenham area of East Belfast as an alternative to the Maze proposal. This would form part of

7776-407: 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

7872-451: The tune of " Freed From Desire " by Gala. The song became a popular chant and internet sensation. A studio version was released by London-based production duo Blonde , going on to reach number seven in the iTunes UK Top 100. A small element of Northern Ireland's support was, in the past, regarded as sectarian. In 2000 the IFA launched the "Football For All" campaign to tackle sectarianism and racism at Northern Ireland games. Michael Boyd,

7968-457: The unsung heroes who have been brave enough to challenge sectarianism and who have actively created a more fun, safe and family-orientated atmosphere at international games. Fans like Stewart have made the atmosphere at Northern Ireland football games in recent years the envy of Fans across not only Europe but World football. From a personal point of view I would like to thank them for their efforts. In 2006, Northern Ireland's supporters were awarded

8064-459: The work was originally scheduled to begin, the redevelopment was finally given the green light. The sports minister signed off on £31 million to complete the project. The redevelopment finally got under way on 6 May 2014 after the 2013–14 domestic season had finished, eight months later than originally planned. The work was completed in 2015. Northern Ireland football team's traditional colours are green, white and azure blue. Green has long been

8160-780: 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 the EFL, these two seasons did not have an equal number of matches per club). The Irish Football League

8256-403: 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,

8352-406: 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

8448-513: Was ended by injuries suffered in the Munich air disaster of February 1958. Despite the presence of world class forward George Best , another Manchester United player, for the 1960s and 1970s, Northern Ireland failed to qualify for any major tournaments. Northern Ireland also qualified for the 1982 World Cup . Their opening game was against Yugoslavia at La Romareda stadium in Zaragoza . It

8544-406: Was granted. It was ruled that it was a possibility for the redevelopment to be classed as state aid towards Linfield. The aspect of the challenge concerning competition law, however, was dismissed. In July 2013, Crusaders agreed to a possible settlement brought forward by the judicial review. The details of the settlement were not made public, but Crusaders said that it had the "potential to benefit

8640-415: 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, the Irish Football League, is the second-oldest national league in

8736-402: Was issued a death threat by Loyalists and retired from international football in 2002 as a result. Former Security Minister Jane Kennedy said the threat against Lennon 'disgraced Northern Ireland in the eyes of the world' and widened the divide between the association and Catholic players and supporters. However, the incident represented a turning point in the campaign against sectarianism in

8832-472: 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 a separate league and association (the Football Association of the Irish Free State – now called

8928-495: Was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team , organised by the Irish Football Association (IFA). In 1921, the jurisdiction of the IFA was reduced to Northern Ireland following the secession of clubs in the soon-to-be Irish Free State , although its team remained the national team for all of Ireland until 1950, and used the name Ireland until the 1970s. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) organises

9024-562: Was the British Home Championship . The team won the competition eight times, taking the title outright on three occasions. They were the last winners of the now defunct competition held in 1984 , and hence still are the British champions, and the trophy remains the property of the Irish FA. Northern Ireland's best World Cup performance was in their first appearance in the finals, the 1958 World Cup , where they reached

9120-422: Was the international debut of 17-year-old Norman Whiteside , who became the youngest player ever in the World Cup finals, a record that still stands. The game finished goalless. Five days later, they drew 1–1 with Honduras , which was a disappointment, and many believed had doomed Northern Ireland's chances of advancing in the competition. They needed a win against hosts Spain in the third and final group game at

9216-442: Was to redevelop Windsor Park into an 18,000 all-seater stadium with a series of phased works originally intended to begin in the summer of 2013. The redevelopment would include the demolition of the existing East and South Stand structures, to be replaced by new purpose built stands that would partially enclose the stadium; complete renovation of the existing North and West Stands; and construction of both new conferencing facilities and

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