2021–22 NIFL Championship

The 2021–22 NIFL Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the NIFL Championship since gaining senior status. It is the second-tier of the Northern Ireland Football League - the national football league in Northern Ireland. The season began on 7 August 2021 and concluded on 30 April 2022.

NIFL Championship
Season2021–22
Dates7 Aug 2021 – 30 Apr 2022
ChampionsNewry City
PromotedNewry City
RelegatedQueen's University
Matches played228
Goals scored720 (3.16 per match)
Biggest home winLoughgall 12–1 Annagh United
(30 April 2022)
Biggest away winKnockbreda 1–6 Loughgall
(11 September 2021)
Highest scoringLoughgall 12–1 Annagh United
(30 April 2022)

The Championship returned after a one-year hiatus, following the cancellation of the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.

Portadown were the champions from the 2019–20 season. However, as they won promotion to the 2020–21 NIFL Premiership before the COVID-19 hiatus, they could not defend their title. Newry City were confirmed as champions on the final day of the 2021–22 season.

Teams
Locations of the 2021–22 NIFL Championship teams
Locations of the Belfast-based 2021–22 NIFL Championship teams

The 2021–22 NIFL Championship was contested by 12 teams, ten of which retained their Championship status from the 2019–20 season. Portadown were champions in the previous season, and were promoted to the 2020–21 NIFL Premiership. They were replaced by the bottom team in the NIFL Premiership, Institute. Runners-up Ballinamallard United missed out on promotion, as the NIFL Premiership play-off was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.

The bottom Championship team from the previous season, PSNI, were relegated to the third-tier NIFL Premier Intermediate League. They were replaced by Annagh United, winners of the Premier Intermediate League. The eleventh-placed Championship team from the previous season, Knockbreda, had a reprieve, as the NIFL Championship play-off was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.

Stadia and locations
Club Stadium Location Capacity[1]
Annagh UnitedTandragee RoadPortadown1,250 (100 seated)
ArdsBangor Fuels ArenaBangor1,895 (500 seated)
Ballinamallard UnitedFerney ParkBallinamallard2,000 (250 seated)
Ballyclare ComradesDixon ParkBallyclare5,333
DergviewDarragh ParkCastlederg1,200
DundelaWilgar ParkBelfast2,500
Harland & Wolff WeldersTillysburn ParkBelfast3,000
InstituteRyan McBride Brandywell StadiumDerry8,200
KnockbredaBreda ParkBelfast1,000
LoughgallLakeview ParkLoughgall3,000
Newry CityThe ShowgroundsNewry2,275 (1,080 seated)
Queen's UniversityUpper MaloneBelfast1,000 (330 seated)

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
1 Newry City (C, P) 38 22 7 9 69 32 +37 73 Promotion to the NIFL Premiership
2 Annagh United 38 20 7 11 73 64 +9 67 Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off
3 Loughgall 38 19 6 13 68 41 +27 63
4 Ballinamallard United 38 17 9 12 69 56 +13 60
5 Harland & Wolff Welders 38 18 5 15 62 57 +5 59
6 Dergview 38 14 13 11 57 52 +5 55
7 Ards 38 16 7 15 64 55 +9 55
8 Dundela 38 15 8 15 65 56 +9 53
9 Institute 38 13 6 19 44 71 −27 45
10 Ballyclare Comrades 38 11 9 18 51 72 −21 42
11 Knockbreda (O) 38 8 10 20 61 94 −33 34 Qualification for the NIFL Championship play-off
12 Queen's University (R) 38 8 7 23 37 70 −33 31 Relegation to the NIFL Premier Intermediate League
Source: 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[2]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league was split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

Results

Matches 34–38

For the final five matches the table split into two halves, with teams ranked 1st–6th in Section A and teams ranked 7th–12th in Section B. During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their respective section once. The fixtures were reversed from those played during rounds 23–33, ensuring that teams had played every other team in their respective section twice at home and twice away overall throughout the season.

NIFL Championship play-off

The eleventh-placed club, Knockbreda, faced the second-placed club from the 2021–22 NIFL Premier Intermediate League, Bangor, for one place in the following season's Championship.

First leg
Bangor2–2Knockbreda
Second leg
Knockbreda2–0Bangor
Breda Park, Belfast

Knockbreda won 4–2 on aggregate.

Season statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Republic of Ireland B.J Banda Ballinamallard United 16
2 Nigeria Benny Igiehon Dergview 14
Scotland Michael McLellan H&W Welders
4 Lithuania Nedas Maciulaitis Loughgall 13
5 Northern Ireland Joshua McIlwaine Ballinamallard United 10
Northern Ireland Ruairi McDonald Annagh United 10
7 Northern Ireland Daniel Hughes Newry City 9

References
  1. "NIFL Championship Venues 2021-2022". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. "Rules and Regulations". NIFL. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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