IFA Premiership
.svg) |
|
| Country | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 2008 (as IFA Premiership); succeeding: Irish Premier League (2003) Irish Football League Premier Division (1995) Irish Football League (1890) |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | NIFL Championship |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Irish Cup NIFL Charity Shield |
| League cup(s) | NI Football League Cup |
| International cup(s) |
UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League |
| Current champions |
Crusaders (2nd Premiership title; 6th Irish title overall) (2015–16) |
| Most championships |
Linfield (3 Premiership titles; 51 Irish titles overall) |
| TV partners |
BBC NI (highlights via BBC iPlayer and Irish Cup final) Sky Sports (5 Premiership games a season and the League Cup final) |
| Website | NI Football League official site |
 2016–17
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BBC NI (highlights via BBC iPlayer and Irish Cup final)
Bwin.Party
Sky Sports (5 Premiership games a season and the League Cup final)
The Northern Ireland Football League Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football League – the national league in Northern Ireland. It was formerly called the IFA Premiership until 2013, with previous competition formats called the Irish Premier League, Irish Football League Premier Division, and before that simply the Irish Football League. Still known in popular parlance simply as the Irish League, the Premiership was established in 2008 under the auspices of the Irish Football Association before the Northern Ireland Football League was created for the start of the 2013–14 season. At the end of the season, the champion club is presented with the Gibson Cup.
Crusaders are the current champions, after they secured their second consecutive NIFL Premiership title and sixth title overall in the club's history by defeating rivals Cliftonville 3–1 on 19 April 2016.
The current Premiership format was introduced for the 2008–09 season after the League system for Northern Ireland was re-organised. The top flight was reduced in size from 16 to 12 clubs, included on the basis not only of their performance in the 2007–08 season, but in the previous two seasons, and other off-the-field criteria. Each applicant club was assessed by an independent panel and awarded points against the following criteria:
Portadown were the highest-profile casualty of the new system, suffering relegation to the newly formed IFA Championship as a result of submitting their application for inclusion in the Premiership 29 minutes past the deadline for consideration. The Premiership remained under IFA control for five seasons until the creation of the Northern Ireland Football League in 2013, when it became the NIFL Premiership.
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