The 2024–25 NIFL Premiership (known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th season of the NIFL Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland and the 124th season of Irish League football overall.
| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10 August 2024 – 26 April 2025 |
| Champions | Linfield |
| Relegated | Loughgall |
| UEFA Champions League | Linfield |
| UEFA Conference League | Dungannon Swifts Larne |
| Matches played | 228 |
| Goals scored | 576 (2.53 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Matthew Shevlin (17 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Linfield 5–1 Loughgall (24 August 2024) |
| Biggest away win | Loughgall 1–5 Cliftonville (14 September 2024) |
| Highest scoring | Linfield 5–1 Loughgall (24 August 2024) |
← 2023–24 2025–26 →
All statistics correct as of 16 November 2024. | |
Teams
editThe league consisted of twelve teams; the top eleven teams from the previous season, and one team promoted from the NIFL Championship. Larne entered the season as defending champions (for the second consecutive season).
The promoted team was the 2023–24 NIFL Championship champions Portadown (returning to the top-flight after a one-season absence). They replaced the 2023–24 NIFL Premiership bottom-placed team Newry City.
Stadia and locations
edit
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[2][3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymena United | The Showgrounds | Ballymena | 3,824 (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 | 3,000 |
| Portadown | Shamrock Park | Portadown | 3,940 (2,765 seated) |
Regular season
editLeague table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 61 | 23 | +38 | 76 | Qualification for the Section A |
| 2 | Larne | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 54 | |
| 3 | Glentoran | 33 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 54 | |
| 4 | Dungannon Swifts | 33 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 50 | |
| 5 | Crusaders | 33 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 50 | |
| 6 | Coleraine | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 49 | |
| 7 | Cliftonville | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 46 | Qualification for the Section B |
| 8 | Portadown | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 46 | |
| 9 | Ballymena United | 33 | 13 | 4 | 16 | 40 | 42 | −2 | 43 | |
| 10 | Glenavon | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 39 | |
| 11 | Carrick Rangers | 33 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 48 | −24 | 27 | |
| 12 | Loughgall | 33 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 71 | −42 | 18 |
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]
Results
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
editLeague table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield (C) | 38 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 69 | 28 | +41 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Larne | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 63 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Glentoran | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 61 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off |
| 4 | Dungannon Swifts | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 51 | 48 | +3 | 57 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[a] |
| 5 | Coleraine | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 55 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off |
| 6 | Crusaders | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 54 |
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[5]
(C) Champions
Notes:
- ^ Dungannon Swifts qualified for the Conference League second qualifying round by winning the 2024–25 Irish Cup.
Results
editEach team plays each other once (either at home or away).
Section B
editLeague table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Cliftonville | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 58 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round play-off |
| 8 | Portadown | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 56 | |
| 9 | Ballymena United | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 47 | |
| 10 | Glenavon | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 46 | |
| 11 | Carrick Rangers (O) | 38 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 32 | 59 | −27 | 32 | Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off |
| 12 | Loughgall (R) | 38 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 36 | 85 | −49 | 22 | 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[6]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Results
editEach team plays each other once (either at home or away).
Play-offs
editConference League play-off
editTeams placed 3rd–7th qualified for one-off play-off matches, with the winners earning the second spot in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League first qualifying round; the higher-placed team per game received home advantage. Teams finishing 4th-7th qualified for the quarter-finals; the 3rd-placed team qualified for the final.
Since the 2024–25 Irish Cup winners (Dungannon Swifts) finished in the top seven (4th), the spot and the quarter-finals were vacated.
Semi-finals
edit| 7 May 2025 | Glentoran (3rd) | v | Cliftonville (7th) | Belfast |
| 19:45 | Stadium: The Oval |
| 7 May 2025 | Coleraine (5th) | v | Crusaders (6th) | Coleraine |
| 19:45 | Stadium: The Showgrounds |
Final
edit| 11 May 2025 | Highest ranked semi-final winner | v | Lowest ranked semi-final winner | |
| 14:00 |
NIFL Premiership play-off
editThe eleventh-placed club (Carrick Rangers) faced the second-placed club from the 2024–25 NIFL Championship (Annagh United) in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the 2025–26 NIFL Premiership.
First leg
edit| 29 April 2025 | Annagh United | 2–5 | Carrick Rangers | Portadown |
| 19:45 | Upton  49'Taylor 90+6' |
Gibson 11', 30', 40' Heatley 17', 59' |
Stadium: BMG Arena |
Second leg
edit| 2 May 2025 | Carrick Rangers | 3–1 (8–3 agg.) | Annagh United | Carrickfergus |
| 19:45 | Heatley 15', 84' Gibson 52' |
Convie 41' |
Stadium: Loughview Leisure Arena |
References
edit- ^ "Linfield lift Irish Premiership after Glentoran win". BBC Sport. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ "AQW 1178/11". Northern Ireland Assembly. 18 October 2010.
- ^ "Sport NI Annual review 2008/09" (PDF). sportni.net. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013.
- ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2024–25" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
