Tag: Playr-Fit Championship
-
A new stadium for Ards would be the cherry on top of a rising Peninsula football scene
It’s over 20 years since Ards left their long-standing Castlereagh Park home and, as 2023 comes to a close, they remain without a permanent place to call their own. Perhaps for not much longer, though. After spells playing their football at Cliftonville’s Solitude in north Belfast, Dixon Park in Ballyclare and Carrick Rangers’ Taylors Avenue,…
-
Starting a cup competition between second and third-tier teams could save the PIL’s NIFL future
Finding the formula to better amalgamate the Premier Intermediate League with the top two tiers of the NI Football League has proved somewhat challenging. Progression into the senior-status ranks is, of course, the golden ticket, and the third-tier is the gateway to that. If you win the PIL, then from the following season, you will…
-
BetMcLean Cup’s Mid-Ulster dynamic makes for an intriguing pair of Semi-Final duels
On Tuesday night, the BetMcLean Cup semi-finals were finalised at last and we now know exactly who will compete for a spot in the prestigious decider. One side of the draw features a mouthwatering Mid-Ulster Derby at Mourneview Park, where a high-stakes tussle between Glenavon and Portadown takes centre stage and the bragging rights of…
-
Rises in Championship and PIL crowds reflect real growth in the Irish League’s lower rungs
When the NI Football League revealed the attendance statistics for the Playr-Fit Championship and Premier Intermediate League, you just had to crack a smile. Both divisions have seen a rise in crowds this campaign, with the PIL – expanded from 12 to 14 teams during the off-season – experiencing a 29 per cent increase in…
-
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…
-
Football chiefs should look into how to boost medical provisions across NI football in 2024
Over the course of an enthralling 2023 in the Irish League, one of the more sombre notes has been the sight of some serious injuries. Be it Linfield shot-stopper David Walsh sustaining a severe blow to the head in an accidental coming-together with Larne counterpart Thomas Maguire in the County Antrim Shield decider in January,…
-
Ambition on and off the pitch is fuelling a bright future for flying Dundela
At the start of the 2023/24 Playr-Fit Championship season, there was both an air of anticipation and a whiff of enigma about Dundela. The previous campaign proved a commendable one. Despite a massive mid-season turnover of players and a managerial switch, the east Belfast club mustered a fourth-placed finish having also reached the County Antrim…
-
NIFL’s bold plan to change the season structure could prove genius… but they must make sure all bases are covered
Summer football is a hot topic in the Irish League. Some agree with the idea, others disagree and, invariably, those in each camp have their reasons for whether they would retain or alter the structure of the season. For many traditionalists, festive occasions like the regional cup Finals and the slate of Boxing Day derbies…
Football Chatters 