Summary
The NIFL Premiership (NIR1), or Sports Direct Premiership, is the top division in Northern Ireland's football system. At the end of the 2025-2026 NIR1 season, the NIR1 teams listed below qualify for the following non-league play:
- 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League - 1st Qualifying Round:
- 1st place 2025-2026 NIR1 Championhsip Group team
- 2026-2027 UEFA Europa Conference League - 1st Qualifying Round:
- 2nd place 2025-2026 NIR1 team
- 2025-2026 NIR1 UEFA Europa Conference League Playoffs winner
The winner of the 2025-2026 Irish Football Association Challenge Cup (Irish Cup), typically a NIR1 team, also receives a berth in the 1st Qualifying Round of the 2026-2027 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Leagues Pyramid - Northern Ireland
| Abbrev | League | # of Teams |
|---|---|---|
| NIR1 | Sports Direct Premiership | 12 |
| NIR2 | NIFL Championship | 12 |
| NIR3 | NIFL Premier Intermediate League | 12 |
Competition Structure
Season | # of Teams | ||
| Regular 9 Aug 2025 - 21 Mar 2026 | Champ/Releg Rounds 24 Mar 2026 - 29 May 2026 | UEFAECL Playoffs 1 Jun 2026 - 15 Jun 2026 | 12: NIR1 (10 minimum), NIR2 (2 maximum) |
Season Format
The 2025-2026 NIR1 season consists of 2 stages. In the first stage, each NIR1 team plays the other 11 NIR1 teams 3 times for a total of 33 league matches. In each 3 match series one team hosts 2 home matches and the other team hosts 1 home match. In the second stage, the top six teams (Championship Group) play each other a 4th time (5 more matches) to determine final rankings for UEFA Champions League and Europa League placements, and the bottom six teams (Relegation Group) play each other a 4th time (5 more matches) to determine the relegation placements. Total points are for all 38 matches. Table ranking ties are broken by (1) goal difference, (2) goals scored, (3) head-to-head points, (4) head-to-head goal difference, then (5) a drawing.
Playoffs
At the end of the 2025-2026 NIR1 season, the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place NIR1 Championship Group teams and the 1st place NIR1 Relegation Group team enter into the UEFAECL playoffs (knockout format). The winner of this playoff receives a berth in the 2026-2027 UEFA Europa Conference League - 1st Qualifying Round.
Relegation
At the end of the 2025-2026 NIR1 season, the 6th place NIR1 Relegation Group team will be relegated to the NIR2, and the 5th place NIR1 Relegation Group team enters into a Home-Away highest aggregate score playoff with the 2nd place NIR2 team. The playoff winner and the 1st place NIR2 team play in the 2026-2027 NIR1, and the playoff loser plays in the 2026-2027 NIR2.
More Info...
UEFAECL Playoffs - Quarters
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
 | 31 | Carrick Rangers FC | Stangmore Park |
Relegation Playoffs
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
| Aggregate | Annagh United FC (NIR2) | 44 | Crusaders FC (NIR1) |
| 28.04.26 |  | 23 | Crusaders FC | BMG Arena |
| 01.05.26 | | 12 | Annagh United FC | Seaview (Belfast) | ||
| Crusaders FC remain in NIR1 on PKs (3-1) | ||||||
2nd Stage
| League | Home | Road | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | MP | W - D - L | PTS | CPTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
| Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Larne FC | 38 | 25 -8-5 | 83 | - | 73 | 26 | 47 | 20 | 13 -5-2 | 44 | 43 | 14 | 29 | 18 | 12 -3-3 | 39 | 30 | 12 | 18 |
| 2 | Coleraine FC | 38 | 25 -5-8 | 80 | - | 83 | 37 | 46 | 18 | 15 -1-2 | 46 | 49 | 16 | 33 | 20 | 10 -4-6 | 34 | 34 | 21 | 13 |
| 3 | Glentoran FC | 38 | 23 -8-7 | 77 | - | 73 | 38 | 35 | 19 | 11 -6-2 | 39 | 34 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 12 -2-5 | 38 | 39 | 22 | 17 |
| 4 | Linfield FC | 38 | 19 -9-10 | 66 | - | 61 | 33 | 28 | 19 | 13 -2-4 | 41 | 39 | 14 | 25 | 19 | 6 -7-6 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 3 |
| 5 | Cliftonville | 38 | 15 -8-15 | 53 | - | 55 | 59 | -4 | 19 | 9 -4-6 | 31 | 32 | 27 | 5 | 19 | 6 -4-9 | 22 | 23 | 32 | -9 |
| 6 | Dungannon Swifts FC | 38 | 15 -1-22 | 46 | - | 42 | 77 | -35 | 19 | 10 -0-9 | 30 | 28 | 30 | -2 | 19 | 5 -1-13 | 16 | 14 | 47 | -33 |
| Relegation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Carrick Rangers FC | 38 | 15 -8-15 | 53 | - | 64 | 58 | 6 | 19 | 7 -4-8 | 25 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 19 | 8 -4-7 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 5 |
| 2 | Portadown FC | 38 | 13 -5-20 | 44 | - | 44 | 66 | -22 | 18 | 7 -3-8 | 24 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 20 | 6 -2-12 | 20 | 26 | 40 | -14 |
| 3 | Ballymena United FC | 38 | 10 -9-19 | 39 | - | 46 | 58 | -12 | 19 | 5 -7-7 | 22 | 23 | 25 | -2 | 19 | 5 -2-12 | 17 | 23 | 33 | -10 |
| 4 | Bangor FC | 38 | 10 -9-19 | 39 | - | 41 | 65 | -24 | 20 | 6 -3-11 | 21 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 18 | 4 -6-8 | 18 | 21 | 30 | -9 |
| 5 | Crusaders FC | 38 | 10 -6-22 | 36 | - | 48 | 81 | -33 | 19 | 4 -4-11 | 16 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 19 | 6 -2-11 | 20 | 22 | 43 | -21 |
| 6 | Glenavon FC | 38 | 8 -4-26 | 28 | - | 37 | 69 | -32 | 19 | 6 -1-12 | 19 | 20 | 31 | -11 | 19 | 2 -3-14 | 9 | 17 | 38 | -21 |
2026-2027 UEFACL UEFAECL Playoffs 2026-2027 UEFAECL Relegation Playoffs Relegation to NIR2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
1st Stage
| League | Home | Road | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | MP | W - D - L | PTS | CPTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | MP | W - D - L | PTS | GF | GA | GD | |
| 1 | Larne FC | 33 | 22 -7-4 | 73 | - | 60 | 22 | 38 | 17 | 11 -5-1 | 38 | 32 | 10 | 22 | 16 | 11 -2-3 | 35 | 28 | 12 | 16 |
| 2 | Glentoran FC | 33 | 21 -6-6 | 69 | - | 63 | 30 | 33 | 16 | 10 -4-2 | 34 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 11 -2-4 | 35 | 35 | 15 | 20 |
| 3 | Coleraine FC | 33 | 20 -5-8 | 65 | - | 62 | 31 | 31 | 16 | 13 -1-2 | 40 | 37 | 12 | 25 | 17 | 7 -4-6 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 6 |
| 4 | Linfield FC | 33 | 18 -8-7 | 62 | - | 56 | 24 | 32 | 16 | 13 -2-1 | 41 | 38 | 7 | 31 | 17 | 5 -6-6 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 1 |
| 5 | Cliftonville | 33 | 13 -8-12 | 47 | - | 49 | 48 | 1 | 17 | 8 -4-5 | 28 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 16 | 5 -4-7 | 19 | 19 | 23 | -4 |
| 6 | Dungannon Swifts FC | 33 | 15 -1-17 | 46 | - | 40 | 58 | -18 | 17 | 10 -0-7 | 30 | 26 | 25 | 1 | 16 | 5 -1-10 | 16 | 14 | 33 | -19 |
| 7 | Carrick Rangers FC | 33 | 12 -7-14 | 43 | - | 49 | 51 | -2 | 17 | 6 -4-7 | 22 | 24 | 27 | -3 | 16 | 6 -3-7 | 21 | 25 | 24 | 1 |
| 8 | Bangor FC | 33 | 10 -6-17 | 36 | - | 38 | 57 | -19 | 17 | 6 -2-9 | 20 | 18 | 28 | -10 | 16 | 4 -4-8 | 16 | 20 | 29 | -9 |
| 9 | Portadown FC | 33 | 11 -3-19 | 36 | - | 36 | 57 | -21 | 17 | 7 -2-8 | 23 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 16 | 4 -1-11 | 13 | 19 | 32 | -13 |
| 10 | Ballymena United FC | 33 | 9 -7-17 | 34 | - | 39 | 50 | -11 | 16 | 5 -5-6 | 20 | 21 | 22 | -1 | 17 | 4 -2-11 | 14 | 18 | 28 | -10 |
| 11 | Crusaders FC | 33 | 7 -5-21 | 26 | - | 38 | 72 | -34 | 16 | 2 -3-11 | 9 | 18 | 35 | -17 | 17 | 5 -2-10 | 17 | 20 | 37 | -17 |
| 12 | Glenavon FC | 33 | 8 -1-24 | 25 | - | 33 | 63 | -30 | 16 | 6 -0-10 | 18 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 17 | 2 -1-14 | 7 | 16 | 37 | -21 |
Championship Group Relegation Group | ||||||||||||||||||||
Results
 | 80 | Dungannon Swifts FC | Inver Park |
 | 62 | Glentoran FC | The Showgrounds (Coleraine) |
 | 12 | Cliftonville | Windsor Park (Belfast) |
 | 24 | Portadown FC | Clandeboye Park |
 | 23 | Carrick Rangers FC | Mourneview Park |
| 32 | Ballymena United FC | Seaview (Belfast) |
| 03 | Carrick Rangers FC | Clandeboye Park |
| 01 | Crusaders FC | Mourneview Park |
| 10 | Dungannon Swifts FC | Solitude (Belfast) |
| 12 | Portadown FC | The Showgrounds (Ballymena) |
| 03 | Coleraine FC | Windsor Park (Belfast) |
| 00 | Larne FC | BetMcLean Oval |
| 00 | Bangor FC | The Showgrounds (Ballymena) |
| 00 | Glenavon FC | Clandeboye Park |
| 50 | Dungannon Swifts FC | BetMcLean Oval |
| 23 | Ballymena United FC | Taylors Avenue |
| 40 | Portadown FC | Seaview (Belfast) |
| 62 | Cliftonville | The Showgrounds (Coleraine) |
| 02 | Larne FC | Windsor Park (Belfast) |
| 14 | Coleraine FC | Inver Park |