| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bangor |
| Promoted | Bangor |
| Relegated | Ballyclare Comrades Newry City |
2025–26 → | |
The2024–25 NIFL Championship (known as thePlayr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of theNIFL Championship (the second-tier of theIrish League - the national football league inNorthern Ireland) since gaining senior status.[1]
The league consisted of twelve teams; nine teams remaining from the previous season, two teams promoted from theNIFL Premier Intermediate League, and one team relegated from theNIFL Premiership.
The promoted teams were2023–24 NIFL Premier Intermediate League championsLimavady United and2023–24 NIFL Championship play-off winnersArmagh City. They replaced the NIFL Championship play-off losersDergview and bottom-placed teamKnockbreda.
The relegated team was the2023–24 NIFL Premiership bottom-placed teamNewry City. They replaced the 2023–24 NIFL Championship championsPortadown.[2][3]
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annagh United | BMG Arena | Portadown | 1,250 (100 seated) |
| Ards | Clandeboye Park | Bangor | 1,895 (500 seated) |
| Armagh City | Holm Park | Armagh | 2,000 (500 seated) |
| Ballinamallard United | Ferney Park | Ballinamallard | 2,000 (250 seated) |
| Ballyclare Comrades | Dixon Park | Ballyclare | 2,398 (538 Seated) |
| Bangor | Clandeboye Park | Bangor | 1,895 (500 seated) |
| Dundela | Wilgar Park | Belfast | 2,500 |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | Blanchflower Stadium | Belfast | 3,000 (2,000 seated) |
| Institute | Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium | Derry | 3,700 |
| Limavady United | The Showgrounds | Limavady | 524 (274 seated) |
| Newington | Inver Park | Larne | 3,000 |
| Newry City | The Showgrounds | Newry | 2,275 (1,080 seated) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor | 33 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 72 | 38 | +34 | 68 | Qualification forSection A |
| 2 | Harland & Wolff Welders | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 60 | |
| 3 | Limavady United | 33 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 60 | |
| 4 | Annagh United | 33 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 58 | 33 | +25 | 56 | |
| 5 | Ards | 33 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 50 | |
| 6 | Dundela | 33 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 48 | |
| 7 | Institute | 33 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 41 | Qualification forSection B |
| 8 | Armagh City | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 51 | 66 | −15 | 38 | |
| 9 | Ballinamallard United | 33 | 11 | 4 | 18 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 37 | |
| 10 | Ballyclare Comrades | 33 | 10 | 5 | 18 | 42 | 74 | −32 | 35 | |
| 11 | Newington | 33 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 36 | 63 | −27 | 31 | |
| 12 | Newry City | 33 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 38 | 66 | −28 | 27 |
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).
| Home \ Away | ANN | ARD | ARM | BMD | BCC | BAG | DUN | HAR | INS | LIM | NEW | NEC | ANN | ARD | ARM | BMD | BCC | BAG | DUN | HAR | INS | LIM | NEW | NEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annagh United | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | — | — | — | 2–2 | — | 4–0 |
| Ards | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 4–2 | — | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — |
| Armagh City | 3–1 | 4–1 | — | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–6 | — | — | — | — | 0–3 | — | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | — |
| Ballinamallard United | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Ballyclare Comrades | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | — | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | — | 0–3 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–2 | — | 3–1 |
| Bangor | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | — | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | — | — | 1–4 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | — |
| Dundela | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 4–2 | — | — | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | — |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | 2–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 4–0 | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4–1 |
| Institute | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–6 | 2–3 | — | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Limavady United | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 3–0 | — | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | — | — | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | — | 3–1 |
| Newington | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–3 | 0–3 | — | 2–3 | — | 3–1 | — | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | — |
| Newry City | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–5 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | — | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 0–1 | — |
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.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor(C, P) | 38 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 82 | 46 | +36 | 76 | Promotion to theNIFL Premiership |
| 2 | Annagh United | 38 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 70 | 37 | +33 | 71 | Qualification for theNIFL Premiership play-off |
| 3 | Harland & Wolff Welders | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 79 | 53 | +26 | 66 | |
| 4 | Limavady United | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 67 | 44 | +23 | 66 | |
| 5 | Ards | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 55 | 57 | −2 | 52 | |
| 6 | Dundela | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 58 | 62 | −4 | 52 |
Each team plays each other once (either at home or away).
| Home \ Away | ANN | ARD | BAG | DUN | HAR | LIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annagh United | — | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 4–2 | — |
| Ards | — | — | — | — | 2–5 | 1–1 |
| Bangor | 2–3 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | — | — |
| Dundela | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | 1–1 |
| Harland & Wolff Welders | — | — | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–3 |
| Limavady United | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | — | — | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Institute | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 62 | 63 | −1 | 51 | |
| 8 | Ballinamallard United | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 55 | 62 | −7 | 44 | |
| 9 | Armagh City | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 62 | 78 | −16 | 42 | |
| 10 | Newington | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 51 | 74 | −23 | 42 | |
| 11 | Ballyclare Comrades(R) | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 52 | 85 | −33 | 40 | Qualification for theNIFL Championship play-off |
| 12 | Newry City(R) | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 46 | 78 | −32 | 31 | Relegation to theNIFL Premier Intermediate League |
Each team plays each other once (either at home or away).
| Home \ Away | ARM | BMD | BCC | INS | NEW | NEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armagh City | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 3–3 | 4–1 |
| Ballinamallard United | — | — | — | 2–0 | — | — |
| Ballyclare Comrades | — | 2–2 | — | — | 2–4 | — |
| Institute | 4–3 | — | 2–1 | — | 3–3 | — |
| Newington | — | 2–1 | — | — | — | 3–2 |
| Newry City | — | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | — |
The eleventh-placed club (Ballyclare Comrades) faced the second-placed club from the2024–25 NIFL Premier Intermediate League (Queen's University) in a two-legged play-off for the final place in the2025–26 NIFL Championship.
| 6 May 2025 | Queen's University | 3–0 | Ballyclare Comrades | Belfast |
| 19:15 | Ovens McKenna Sheridan | Stadium:Upper Malone |
| 9 May 2025 | Ballyclare Comrades | 2–0 (2–3agg.) | Queen's University | Ballyclare |
| 19:45 | Hawthorne Doyle | Stadium:Dixon Park |