Category: Talking Points
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How the Irish FA’s new ‘Conference Layer’ for intermediate football can be big hit or own goal
Changes to the intermediate football sphere in Northern Ireland have long been touted and, going by the Irish FA’s latest update on the topic, closer than ever to coming to fruition. From the 2026-27 campaign, a new ‘Conference Layer’ will be in effect as part of a radical shake-up of the intermediate levels of the…
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Why cup-heavy and irregular Amateur League schedule is in desperate need of change
It’s April, the clocks have moved forward an hour and, in Northern Ireland football terms, that marks a particularly significant time in the season below the Irish League. It’s a point that is largely defined by catching up. That’s to say that in the Northern Amateur Football League, Ballymena and Provincial Intermediate League and Mid-Ulster…
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Registration debates are tiring… appeals should drive improvement to banish them for good
Irish League registration sagas. You’re always guaranteed one or two over the course of a season these days. The latest has just been resolved; in the Irish Cup, Ards lodged an appeal following their Sixth Round defeat to Institute regarding the eligibility of Oisin Devlin for the fixture and, as it happened, there was merit…
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Ambition of Irish League must be matched by Government with Sub-Regional release
After a two-year hiatus, the Northern Ireland Executive is back up and running – and the to-do list in respect of domestic sport is a long one. With preparations for the Euro 2028 Finals to account for that includes the redevelopment of west Belfast’s Casement Park, which is scheduled to host five fixtures at the…
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Defences can win titles in the Irish League… but sometimes attack is the best form of it
There’s a classic saying in football that has rung true in many hunts for league glory all over the world across the years. “Attacks win you games, defences win you titles.” First famously coined by the legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who suggested that scoring bucketloads of goals may win you battles…
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Bringing back salary cap a small step but giant leap towards professionalism in the Irish League
The hive of discussion on how to improve the Irish League is always abuzz. Whether on or off the pitch, the spoken, overarching ambition of organisation CEO Gerard Lawlor is to see greater professionalism throughout the NI Football League. Earlier in the season, the former Cliftonville chairman unveiled the league body’s five-year plan titled ‘A…
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Implementing VAR in the Irish League could be an increasingly hard sell for supporters in 2024
So, 2023 is almost at an end and 2024 is nigh upon us. Such is the cliché, it is a time to reflect on what has come and gone, looking forward to the exciting new horizons a new year can bring. This 12-month span proved a memorable one in the Irish League, arguably capped by…
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2pm kick-off times in top two tiers during winter would have more benefits than drawbacks
Winter is a time of year that brings new challenges – ones that stretch beyond the footballing sphere but, equally, can leave their imprint on it. The most obvious of these fresh trials is the climate. Earlier sunsets, cold chills, snow and ice paint a different picture at the season’s mid-point compared to the warm-weather…
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