Tag: Irish FA
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It’s unfair to put blame at feet of Linfield and Cliftonville for Irish Cup Final crowd disorder
A penny for the thoughts of Linfield and Cliftonville this week. This year’s Irish Cup Final was a spectacular in every sense. Nearly 15,000 packed inside Windsor Park for the biggest-attended domestic fixture in Northern Ireland this century and an occasion to savour that, for the most part, featured backing from both sides that supported…
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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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Upset value in the Irish Cup on full display in the Fifth Round… with every chance of continuing
In the Irish Cup Sixth Round, there were three all-Premiership ties pulled out of the hat that all but confirms the amount of top-flight clubs will have at least been slashed in half from the last-32 by the time the quarter-finals roll around. League leaders Linfield will host relegation-battling Ballymena United, second-placed Larne entertain Glenavon…
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Ballymacash Rangers’ Irish Cup showdown with Glentoran pick of the last-16 ties for TV billing
When the Irish Cup Fifth Round draw was made, intermediate representation in the last-16 had already been rubber-stamped when Oxford Sunnyside of the Mid-Ulster League learned that they would face Premier Intermediate League opposition in Ballymacash Rangers. It was history in itself for The ‘Cash, who were featuring at this stage of the blue-riband 143-year-old…
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Five-star Ballyclare Comrades sign off Dixon Park grass pitch era with flourish in Irish Cup
Ballyclare Comrades began their 2024 with the end of an era, progressing into the Sixth Round of the Irish Cup but saying a heartfelt goodbye to their days on grass at Dixon Park. Their 5-2 victory over Strabane Athletic was the final first-team match at the east Antrim venue before a new artificial surface is…
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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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However the Euro 2028 construction process plays out, it must be handled with perspective
Northern Ireland is set to play a hosting part in the Euro 2028 Finals, with the redevelopment of Casement Park set to start in early 2024 to make it happen. A home away from home, the west Belfast venue is not one accustomed to hosting association football – rather, it is the historical heart and…
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Extortionate ticket prices are taking away from the Northern Ireland feelgood factor of old
Northern Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, which had supporters brimming with hope when the draw was first made, has not worked a treat. Michael O’Neill hasn’t been given much of a honeymoon period since returning to the hotseat, as a frustrating crusade will ensure that his joy at guiding the nation to the 2016 Euros…
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