Association football in Northern Ireland
Association football in Northern Ireland | |
---|---|
Country | Northern Ireland |
Governing body | Irish Football Association |
National team(s) | Northern Ireland national football team |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
Northern Amateur League Northern Ireland Intermediate League | |
International competitions | |
Champions League Europa League Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA World Cup (national team) UEFA European Championship (national team) UEFA Nations League (national team) |
Association football in Northern Ireland, widely known as football or sometimes as soccer (to avoid confusion with Gaelic football), is one of the most popular sports in Northern Ireland. The governing body in Northern Ireland is the Irish Football Association (IFA) (not to be confused with the Football Association of Ireland [FAI] in the Republic of Ireland). Gaelic football, rugby union and association football are the most popular sports in Northern Ireland.[1]
Governing body
The
The Northern Ireland Women's Football Association (NIWFA) is the IFA's
Competitions
The domestic league is the
The Setanta Sports Cup was set up by its sponsors, television channel Setanta Ireland. It was an all-island tournament (two groups of four, then semis and final) featuring eight teams, four being from the League of Ireland and four from the Irish League. Despite fairly low turnouts for each jurisdiction's leagues, the Setanta Cup drew relatively successful gate receipts and in its three-year existence has had one winner from the North (Linfield in 2005).[8]
National team
The
The team enjoyed a period of success in the early and mid-80s in which it qualified for two World Cups, most notably in the 1982 tournament in which it topped Group 5 above Spain, Yugoslavia and Honduras to proceed to the second round.
Men's team home matches draw significantly higher attendances than those of the NIFL Premiership. Attendances at Windsor Park home matches have consistently been in the 14,000-18,000 range in the time period between COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and November 2023.
Problems
Since 1968, Cronin argues that the sport has failed to include the Catholic community with Catholic clubs being either forced out of existence or transferring their allegiance to the FAI.[16] Hooliganism and sectarianism have remained problems throughout the Troubles and up to the present day. Northern Ireland football grounds have been described as "useful sites of public displays of political affiliation", and internal divisions between groups involved in political violence in the mid-1990s was reflected in the supporters of various clubs.[17] Incidents of violence include trouble after Linfield player Conor Hagan was struck by a rocket fired from the crowd, and disturbances between Linfield and Glentoran fans at the 2008 Boxing Day match between the two clubs.[18]
In addition to problems in domestic football, the Northern Ireland international team has also suffered from sectarian problems. In 2002 Celtic player Neil Lennon announced that he would no longer play for Northern Ireland because he received a death threat,[14] and death threats appeared on the walls of loyalist areas including in his home town of Lurgan, County Armagh.[19]
Bibliography
- Roberts, Benjamin. Gunshots & Goalposts: The Story of Northern Irish Football.
- Marshall, Evan. Spirit of '58: The Incredible Untold Story of Northern Ireland's Greatest Football Team.
- Marshall, Evan. Fields of Wonder: The Incredible Story of Northern Ireland’s Journey to the 1982 World Cup.
References
- ^ "Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "IFA | Irish Football Association | Northern Ireland Football". IFA. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "NIWFA". IFA. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Danske Bank Premiership". IFA. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Football titles world league: Rangers top, but who is most dominant?". The Independent. 2012-02-16. Archived from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "SuperCupNI". www.supercupni.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ UEFA.com. "Under-19 - France savour first triumph". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Setanta Cup · The Daily Edge". The Daily Edge. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "NI football's greatest moments". 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ uefa.com. "Member associations - Northern Ireland - Overview". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ McCann, Eamonn. "Northern Ireland is the most successful country ever in World Cup finals". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Euro 2016 exit painful but leaves legacy for future success". 2016-06-26. Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ UEFA.com. "Northern Ireland - UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ a b "Sectarianism in sport discussed". BBC. 2003-04-11. Archived from the original on 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
- ^ a b Richard William Cox; Dave Russell; Wray Vamplew (2002). Encyclopedia of British football. Psychology Press. pp. 190, 262.
- ^ Mike Cronin (2001), Catholics and Sport in Northern Ireland: Exclusiveness or Inclusiveness?, International Sports Studies, vol. 21, no. 1, p. 26
- ^ Gary Armstrong; Richard Giulianotti (2001). Fear and loathing in world football. p. 53.
- ^ Stuart McKinley (2008-12-26). "Riot police deal with hooligan fans as Linfield beat Glentoran". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ Colin Blackstock (2002-08-22). "Northern Ireland football captain quits match after death threats". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2011-03-10.