The 2024–25 NIFL Premiership (known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is 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 2024-22 March 2025 |
| Matches played | 98 |
| Goals scored | 301 (3.07 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Matthew Shevlin (12 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).
Portadown were promoted as champions of the 2023–24 NIFL Championship (returning to the top-flight after a one-season absence), replacing the 2023–24 NIFL Premiership bottom-placed team Newry City.
Stadia and locations
edit| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[1][2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 38 | Qualification for Section A |
| 2 | Cliftonville | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 31 | |
| 3 | Dungannon Swifts | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 30 | |
| 4 | Portadown | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 19 | +6 | 28 | |
| 5 | Glentoran | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 28 | |
| 6 | Crusaders | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 27 | |
| 7 | Ballymena United | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 27 | Qualification for Section B |
| 8 | Coleraine | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 26 | |
| 9 | Larne | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 22 | |
| 10 | Carrick Rangers | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 30 | −10 | 18 | |
| 11 | Glenavon | 19 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 16 | |
| 12 | Loughgall | 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 20 | 48 | −28 | 12 |
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[3]
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.
Play-offs
editConference League play-off
editClubs placed 3rd–7th compete for the second and final place in the 2025–26 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. If the 2024–25 Irish Cup winners finish in the top three, the third-placed team will qualify automatically for the Conference League spot and the spot will be vacated. If the Irish Cup winners finish in between fourth and seventh, that spot will be vacated.
NIFL Premiership play-off
editThe eleventh-placed club will face the second-placed club from the 2024–25 NIFL Championship in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the 2025–26 NIFL Premiership.
References
edit- ^ "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 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.