The 2023–24 NIFL Premiership (known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of the NIFL Premiership (the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland), the 123rd season of Irish League football overall, and the 11th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League. The 38-game season commenced on 4 August 2023 and concluded on 27 April 2024.
| Season | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 Aug 2023 – 27 Apr 2024 |
| Champions | Larne |
| Relegated | Newry City |
| UEFA Champions League | Larne |
| UEFA Conference League | Cliftonville Crusaders Linfield |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
The champions (Larne, their second consecutive title win) qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round.[1] The 2023–24 Irish Cup winners (Cliftonville) qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League second qualifying round, with the second-placed team (Linfield) and Conference League play-off winners (Crusaders) qualifying for the first qualifying round. The eleventh-placed team (Ballymena United) qualified for the NIFL Premiership play-off, winning and retaining their place in the league. The bottom-placed team (Newry City) were relegated to the 2024–25 NIFL Championship.
Teams
editThe league consisted of twelve teams; eleven teams remaining from the previous season, and one team promoted from the NIFL Championship. Loughgall were promoted as champions of the 2022–23 NIFL Championship (returning to the top-flight for the first time since 2007), replacing the 2022–23 NIFL Premiership bottom-placed team Portadown. Larne entered the season as defending champions, having won their first league title in the previous season.
Stadia and locations
edit
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[2][3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymena United | The Showgrounds | Ballymena | 4,100 (all seated) |
| Carrick Rangers | Loughshore Hotel Arena | Carrickfergus | 2,100 (380 seated) |
| Cliftonville | Solitude | Belfast | 3,054 (all seated) |
| Coleraine | The Showgrounds | Coleraine | 4,843 (1,607 seated) |
| Crusaders | Seaview | Belfast | 3,208 (all seated) |
| Dungannon Swifts | Stangmore Park | Dungannon | 2,000 (300 seated) |
| Glenavon | Mourneview Park | Lurgan | 3,302 (all seated) |
| Glentoran | The Oval | Belfast | 6,054 (3,991 seated) |
| Larne | Inver Park | Larne | 2,732 (1,632 seated) |
| Linfield | Windsor Park | Belfast | 18,434 (all seated) |
| Loughgall | Lakeview Park | Loughgall | 1,300 |
| Newry City | The Showgrounds | Newry | 2,275 (1,080 seated) |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larne (C) | 38 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 85 | 21 | +64 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Linfield | 38 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 82 | 40 | +42 | 85 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Cliftonville | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 80 | 43 | +37 | 75 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[b] |
| 4 | Crusaders (O) | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 64 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off |
| 5 | Glentoran | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 74 | 43 | +31 | 60 | |
| 6 | Coleraine | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 47 | 69 | −22 | 46 | |
| 7 | Carrick Rangers | 38 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 54 | 72 | −18 | 50 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off |
| 8 | Dungannon Swifts | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 64 | 69 | −5 | 47 | |
| 9 | Loughgall | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 60 | 68 | −8 | 45 | |
| 10 | Glenavon | 38 | 11 | 4 | 23 | 45 | 70 | −25 | 37 | |
| 11 | Ballymena United (O) | 38 | 8 | 4 | 26 | 29 | 70 | −41 | 28 | Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off |
| 12 | Newry City (R) | 38 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 26 | 99 | −73 | 17 | Relegation to the NIFL Championship |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Drawing of lots[4]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
- ^ Cliftonville qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round by winning the 2023–24 Irish Cup.
Results
editMatches 1–33
editFor matches 1–22, each team plays every other team twice (home and away). For matches 23–33, each team plays every other team for the third time (either at home or away).
Matches 34–38
editFor the final five matches, the table splits into two halves, with the top six teams forming Section A and the bottom six teams forming Section B. Each team plays every other team in their respective section once. The fixtures are reversed from those played during rounds 23–33, ensuring that teams have played every other team in their respective section twice at home and twice away overall throughout the season.
Section A
editSection B
editPlay-offs
editConference League play-offs
editClubs placed 3rd–7th compete for the second and final place in the 2024–25 Conference League first qualifying round. The play-offs are one-off matches, with the higher-ranked teams given home advantage and extra time and penalties used to determine the winner if necessary. Since the 2023–24 Irish Cup winners finished in the top three, the 3rd-placed team qualified automatically for the Conference League and the spot was vacated.
Semi-finals
edit| 1 May 2024 | Crusaders (4th) | 3–1 | Carrick Rangers (7th) | Belfast |
| 19:45 | Lecky  7', 54'Nixon 45+1' |
Gibson 45+3' |
Stadium: Seaview |
| 1 May 2024 | Glentoran (5th) | 0–3 | Coleraine (6th) | Belfast |
| 19:45 | McGonigle 21', 70' Kane 45+5' |
Stadium: The Oval |
Final
edit| 6 May 2024 | Crusaders (4th) | 3–2 | Coleraine (6th) | Belfast |
| 15:00 | O'Rourke 36' Larmour 38'Forsythe 90+1' |
McGonigle 5' Carson 70' |
Stadium: Seaview |
NIFL Premiership play-off
editThe eleventh-placed club (Ballymena United) faced the second-placed club from the 2023–24 NIFL Championship (Institute) in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the following season's Premiership.
First leg
edit| 30 April 2024 | Institute | 1–0 | Ballymena United | Derry |
| 15:00 | Lafferty 58' |
Stadium: Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium |
Second leg
edit| 3 May 2024 | Ballymena United | 2–0 (2–1 agg.) | Institute | Ballymena |
| 15:00 | McCullough 78' McCurry 87' |
Stadium: Ballymena Showgrounds |
References
edit- ^ "Back-to-back titles wonderful achievement - Lynch". BBC Sport. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "AQW 1178/11". niassembly.gov.uk. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ "Sport NI Annual review 2008/09" (PDF). sportni.net. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
