2021–22 NIFL Premiership
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 Aug 2021 – May 2022 |
| Matches played | 153 |
| Goals scored | 416 (2.72 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jay Donnelly (21 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Crusaders 4–0 Portadown (31 August 2021) Linfield 4–0 Carrick Rangers (9 October 2021) Cliftonville 4–0 Portadown (2 November 2021) Glentoran 4–0 Ballymena United (13 November 2021) Crusaders 4–0 Dungannon Swifts (11 December 2021) Larne 4–0 Portadown (29 January 2022) |
| Biggest away win | Warrenpoint Town 1–6 Glenavon (4 September 2021) Dungannon Swifts 0–5 Coleraine (11 September 2021) Dungannon Swifts 1–6 Linfield (1 January 2022) |
| Highest scoring | Warrenpoint Town 1–6 Glenavon (4 September 2021) Ballymena United 4–3 Dungannon Swifts (28 September 2021) Dungannon Swifts 1–6 Linfield (1 January 2022) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 →
All statistics correct as of 8 February 2022. | |
The 2021–22 NIFL Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the 14th season of Northern Ireland's highest national football league in this format since its inception in 2008, the 121st season of Irish league football overall, and the ninth season since the creation of the Northern Ireland Football League. The season normally begins in early August, however, due to the previous season finishing a few weeks later than usual in late May 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland, the start of this season was pushed back. It commenced on 27 August 2021 and will conclude in May 2022.[1]
Linfield are the three-time defending champions, having been league winners in the previous three seasons - the 2020–21 season seeing them win a world record-equalling 55th league title.
The champions will enter the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, while the runners-up and the play-off winners will join the 2021–22 Irish Cup winners in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.
Teams[]
Twelve teams will compete in the 2021–22 NIFL Premiership, the same twelve teams from the previous season. No relegation took place from the previous season's Premiership, after a majority of second-tier NIFL Championship clubs voted to cancel their 2020–21 season. The second and third tiers had not been granted 'elite' sporting status by the IFA which was required in order to continue playing matches during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, with lower division clubs not having played any league fixtures since the 2019–20 season had initially been suspended in March 2020.[2]
Dungannon Swifts finished bottom of the table the previous season, but were reprieved from relegation. Carrick Rangers were also reprieved, having finished in 11th place. This would normally have required them to take part in the NIFL Premiership play-off against the qualifier from the NIFL Championship.
Stadia and locations[]
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[3][4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymena United | The Showgrounds | Ballymena | 3,824 (all seated) |
| Carrick Rangers | Loughshore Hotel Arena | Carrickfergus | 2,100 (380 seated) |
| Cliftonville | Solitude | Belfast | 3,054 (all seated) |
| Coleraine | The Showgrounds | Coleraine | 4,843 (1,607 seated) |
| Crusaders | Seaview | Belfast | 3,208 (all seated) |
| Dungannon Swifts | Stangmore Park | Dungannon | 2,000 (300 seated) |
| Glenavon | Mourneview Park | Lurgan | 3,302 (all seated) |
| Glentoran | The Oval | Belfast | 6,054 (3,991 seated) |
| Larne | Inver Park | Larne | 2,732 (1,632 seated) |
| Linfield | Windsor Park | Belfast | 18,434 (all seated) |
| Portadown | Shamrock Park | Portadown | 3,940 (2,765 seated) |
| Warrenpoint Town | Milltown | Warrenpoint | 2,000 (150 seated) |
League table[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield | 26 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 47 | 17 | +30 | 56 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Glentoran | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[b] |
| 3 | Cliftonville | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 52 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs[c] |
| 4 | Larne | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 29 | +18 | 44 | |
| 5 | Crusaders | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 42 | |
| 6 | Coleraine | 25 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 39 | 19 | +20 | 40 | |
| 7 | Ballymena United | 25 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 35 | |
| 8 | Glenavon | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 33 | |
| 9 | Dungannon Swifts | 26 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 35 | 65 | −30 | 25 | |
| 10 | Carrick Rangers | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 43 | −19 | 23 | |
| 11 | Portadown (Y) | 26 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 55 | −33 | 14 | Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off |
| 12 | Warrenpoint Town (Y) | 25 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 56 | −37 | 9 | Relegation to the NIFL Championship |
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[5]
(Y) Assured of a place in Section B (bottom six)
Notes:
- ^ Teams will play each other three times (33 matches), before the league splits into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.
- ^ The 2021–22 Irish Cup winners will also enter the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
- ^ One of the five play-off places will be vacated if the 2021–22 Irish Cup winners finish 7th or higher, as the cup winners (or the 3rd-placed team if the cup winners also finish 1st or 2nd) will enter the Europa Conference League first qualifying round directly.
Results[]
Matches 1–22[]During matches 1–22 each team will play every other team twice (home and away). |
Matches 23–33[]During matches 23–33 each team will play every other team for the third time (either at home, or away).
|
Matches 34–38[]
For the final five matches the table then splits into two halves, with teams ranked 1st–6th in Section A and teams ranked 7th–12th in Section B. During matches 34–38 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.
Section A[] |
Section B[]
|
Play-offs[]
UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs[]
Four or five of the clubs that finish in 3rd–7th place will compete for one place in the 2022–23 Europa Conference League first qualifying round, subject to holding a UEFA licence. The play-offs are one-off matches with extra time and penalties used to determine the winner if necessary, with the higher-ranked teams given home advantage against the lower-ranked teams (i.e. 4th v. 7th and 5th v. 6th) in the semi-finals. The higher-ranked of the two semi-final winners also has home advantage in the final.
The number of teams in the play-offs will be determined by the outcome of the 2021–22 Irish Cup:
- If the Irish Cup winners finish 7th or higher: one of the five play-off places will be vacated as the cup winners (or the 3rd-placed team if the cup winners also finish 1st or 2nd) will qualify for the Europa Conference League directly.
- If the Irish Cup winners finish lower than 7th: all five clubs will compete in the play-offs, with an extra quarter-final tie being played between the 6th and 7th-placed clubs to decide which club will join the other three clubs in the semi-finals.
Semi-finals[]
| 3rd/4th-placed team | v | 6th/7th-placed team |
|---|---|---|
| 4th/5th-placed team | v | 5th/6th-placed team |
|---|---|---|
Final[]
| Higher-ranked semi-final winner | v | Lower-ranked semi-final winner |
|---|---|---|
NIFL Premiership play-off[]
The eleventh-placed club will face the club that qualifies from the 2021–22 NIFL Championship for one place in the following season's Premiership.
Statistics[]
Top goalscorers[]
- As of 8 February 2022
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jay Donnelly
|
Glentoran | 21 |
| 2 |  Christy Manzinga
|
Linfield | 17 |
| 3 | Conor McMenamin
|
Glentoran | 13 |
| 4 | Ryan Curran
|
Cliftonville | 12 |
| 5 | David McDaid
|
Larne | 10 |
| Matthew Shevlin
|
Coleraine | ||
| 7 | Matthew Fitzpatrick
|
Glenavon | 9 |
| Ben Kennedy
|
Crusaders | ||
| 9 | Joe Gormley
|
Cliftonville | 8 |
| Darragh McBrien
|
Dungannon Swifts |
References[]
- ^ "Irish Premiership: New season to start on 28 August following feedback from managers". BBC. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ "NIFL Championship: 2020/2021 season declared null and void after clubs vote". BBC. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "AQW 1178/11". niassembly.gov.uk. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ "Sport NI Annual review 2008/09" (PDF). sportni.net. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "Irish Premiership Top Scorers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
External links[]
- NIFL Premiership seasons
- 2021–22 in European association football leagues
- 2021–22 in Northern Ireland association football
- Current association football seasons