Football in Northern Ireland

Association football in Northern Ireland, widely known as football or sometimes as soccer (to avoid confusion with Gaelic football), is one of the most popular sports in Northern Ireland. The governing body in Northern Ireland is the Irish Football Association (IFA) (not to be confused with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in the Republic of Ireland).

The Irish Football Association is the organising body for football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for the whole of the Ireland until the FAI split away. The IFA has a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board, which is responsible for the laws of the game.

The Northern Ireland Women's Football Association (NIWFA) is the IFA's women's football arm. It runs a Women's Cup, Women's League and the Northern Ireland women's national football team.

The domestic league is the IFA Premiership. Some of the major teams include Portadown FC, Glentoran FC and Linfield FC (although Derry City play in the FAI's League of Ireland). A notable historic club was Belfast Celtic, which won nineteen championships before resigning from the league and disbanding after a sectarian riot at its Boxing Day match against Linfield. Derry City FC also left the league following security issues arising from the Troubles, eventually to play in the League of Ireland.

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