2023–24 NIFL Championship
The 2023–24 NIFL Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the seventh season of the NIFL Championship since gaining senior status. It is the second-tier of the Irish League - the national football league in Northern Ireland. The season began on 5 August 2023.
| Season | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 Aug 2023 – |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
Loughgall were the champions of the previous season and promoted to the 2023–24 NIFL Premiership. They were replaced by Portadown, who were relegated from the 2022–23 NIFL Premiership. Second-placed Warrenpoint Town were relegated to the 2023–24 NIFL Premier Intermediate League due to a licensing issue and replaced by Bangor, the champions of the 2022–23 NIFL Premier Intermediate League.
Teams
Stadia and locations
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annagh United | Tandragee Road | Portadown | 1,250 (100 seated) |
| Ards | Bangor Fuels Arena | Bangor | 1,895 (500 seated) |
| Ballinamallard United | Ferney Park | Ballinamallard | 2,000 (250 seated) |
| Ballyclare Comrades | Dixon Park | Ballyclare | 5,333 |
| Bangor | Clandeboye Park | Bangor | 1,895 (500 seated) |
| Dergview | Darragh Park | Castlederg | 1,200 |
| Dundela | Wilgar Park | Belfast | 2,500 |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | Tillysburn Park | Belfast | 3,000 |
| Institute | Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium | Derry | 8,200 |
| Knockbreda | Breda Park | Belfast | 1,000 |
| Newington | Solitude | Belfast | 8,000 (3,000 seated) |
| Portadown | Shamrock Park | Portadown | 3,940 (2,765 seated) |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundela | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 27 | Promotion to NIFL Premiership |
| 2 | Portadown | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 13 | +10 | 24 | Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off |
| 3 | Institute | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 22 | |
| 4 | Bangor | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 15 | +5 | 20 | |
| 5 | Newington | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 18 | |
| 6 | Ballyclare Comrades | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 18 | |
| 7 | Annagh United | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 18 | |
| 8 | Harland & Wolff Welders | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 17 | |
| 9 | Ballinamallard United | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 14 | |
| 10 | Dergview | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 13 | |
| 11 | Ards | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 13 | Qualification for the NIFL Championship play-off |
| 12 | Knockbreda | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 35 | −27 | 0 | Relegation to NIFL Premier Intermediate League |
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]
Notes:
- Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
Results
Matches 1–33
For 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
For 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.
NIFL Championship play-off
The eleventh-placed club will face the second-placed club from the 2023–24 NIFL Premier Intermediate League for one place in the following season's Championship.
References
- "NIFL Championship Venues 2021-2022". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- "Rules and Regulations". NIFL. Retrieved 3 September 2021.