2011–12 IFA Premiership
Encyclopedia
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymena United Ballymena United F.C. Ballymena United, is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. The club hails from the town of Ballymena, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Ballymena Showgrounds. Club colours are sky blue and white. Away Colours are Red and BlackThe club was... |
The Showgrounds Ballymena Showgrounds The Ballymena Showgrounds is a football stadium in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is home to Ballymena United F.C.. It is owned by Ballymena Borough Council... |
Ballymena Ballymena Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census.... |
1,418 (all seated) |
| Carrick Rangers | Seaview Seaview (football ground) Seaview is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Crusaders F.C.. The stadium holds 3,054. The stadium has a 4G pitch.... |
Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... |
3,383 (All Seated)1 |
| Cliftonville Cliftonville F.C. Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. Founded on 20 September 1879 by John McCredy McAlery in the suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast, it is the oldest football club in Ireland and celebrated its 130th... |
Solitude Solitude (football ground) Solitude is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Cliftonville. The stadium holds 6,224, but is currently restricted to 2,180 under safety legislation. The stadium was built in 1890.... |
Belfast | 2,180 (1,878 seats) |
| Coleraine Coleraine F.C. Coleraine F.C. is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club, playing in the IFA Premiership. The club, founded in 1927, hails from Coleraine, County Londonderry and plays its home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours are blue and white... |
The Showgrounds | Coleraine Coleraine Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections... |
2,496 (1,106 seats) |
| Crusaders Crusaders F.C. Crusaders Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish association football club, playing in the IFA Premiership. The club, founded in 1898, hails from Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview. Club colours are red and black. The current manager is Stephen Baxter, appointed in 2005... |
Seaview Seaview (football ground) Seaview is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Crusaders F.C.. The stadium holds 3,054. The stadium has a 4G pitch.... |
Belfast | 3,383 (All Seated) |
| Donegal Celtic | Donegal Celtic Park Donegal Celtic Park Donegal Celtic Park, also known as Suffolk Road and Celtic Park or more recently The NSR due to the recent expansion, is the home of IFA Premiership team Donegal Celtic. It is situated in the Suffolk Road in west Belfast... |
Belfast | 2,254 (988 seats) |
| Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts F.C. Dungannon Swifts F.C. is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the Irish League First Division in 1997... |
Stangmore Park Stangmore Park Stangmore Park is a football stadium in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Dungannon Swifts F.C.. The stadium holds 3,000 spectators.-External links:*... |
Dungannon Dungannon Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time... |
5,000 (300 seats) |
| Glenavon Glenavon F.C. Glenavon F.C. is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. The club, founded in 1889, hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park... |
Mourneview Park Mourneview Park Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, and is the home ground of Glenavon F.C.. The stadium holds 5,000 and was built in 1895. The 2009 CIS Cup final was held there: the first such final to be held outside Belfast.-External links:**... |
Lurgan Lurgan Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway... |
9,000 (4,000 seats) |
| Glentoran Glentoran F.C. Glentoran F.C. is a semi-professional, football club in Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 and plays its home games at the Oval in east Belfast. Club colours are green, red, and black.Glentoran's biggest rivals are Linfield... |
The Oval The Oval (Belfast) The Oval is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland.The stadium has been home to Glentoran since 1892. Before that the team used Ormeau Park from 1882 to 1886. Then the team shifted to King's Field in Ballymacarrett for four years until 1890. The team's next destination was Musgrave Park... |
Belfast | 5,056 (3,991 seats) |
| Linfield Linfield F.C. Linfield F.C. , is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club, whose home ground is Windsor Park in Belfast, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland international team.... |
Windsor Park Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:... |
Belfast | 12,342 (all seated) |
| Lisburn Distillery | New Grosvenor Stadium New Grosvenor Stadium New Grosvenor Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Ballyskeagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is currently used for football matches and greyhound racing, the latter under the operating name Drumbo Park... |
Lisburn Lisburn DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn... |
7,000 (540 seats) |
| Portadown Portadown F.C. Portadown F.C. is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club which plays in the IFA Premiership.The club was founded in the late 1880s and joined the Irish League in 1924. It is based in Portadown in County Armagh and plays its home games at Shamrock Park... |
Shamrock Park Shamrock Park Shamrock Park is a football stadium in Portadown, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Portadown F.C.. Shamrock Park used to be used for stock-car racing, but this has been discontinued in recent years... |
Portadown Portadown Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast... |
2,227 (all seated) |
1 Carrick Rangers are currently playing their home matches at Crusaders' Seaview ground.
League table
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 once (either at home or away). This means that following matches 1–33 each team will have played every other team 3 times (either 1 home, 2 away or 2 home, 1 away).Matches 34–38
During matches 34–38 each team will play every other team in their half of the table once. As this will be the fourth time that teams will play each other this season, home sides in this round will be chosen so that teams have played each other twice at home and twice away.Top six
Bottom six
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gary McCutcheon |
Ballymena United | 17 |
| 2 |  Kevin BraniffKevin Braniff Kevin Braniff is a Northern Irish striker who currently plays with Northern Ireland side Portadown and who has been capped by Northern Ireland.-Club career:... |
Portadown | 13 |
| 3 | Chris Scannell Chris Scannell Chris Scannell is a professional footballer from Northern Ireland and plays for Cliftonville F.C.. Scannell is one of Cliftonville's all-time leading goalscorers having amassed over 100 goals for the club. His brother Ronan also plays for the club.Chris made his senior debut for Cliftonville... |
Cliftonville | 12 |
 Matthew TiptonMatthew Tipton Matthew John Tipton is a professional footballer. He is a currently playing for Portadown. He plays as a striker.-Career:... |
Portadown | 12 | |
| 5 | Rory Donnelly |
Cliftonville | 10 |
| Mark McAllister Mark McAllister Mark McAllister is a footballer from Northern Ireland currently playing as a striker for IFA Premiership champions Linfield.-Dungannon Swifts:... |
Linfield | 10 | |
| 7 | Gary Liggett |
Lisburn Distillery | 9 |
| 8 | Gary Hamilton Gary Hamilton Gary Hamilton is a footballer from Northern Ireland. He plays for Glentoran.-Career:Hamilton currently holds the Irish Premier League record for the number of goals scored in a match, scoring six for Portadown against Omagh Town in October 2004 .Now a full-time professional with Glentoran, he has... |
Glentoran | 8 |
| 9 | Curtis Allen Curtis Allen Curtis Allen is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Coleraine.Allen scored a hat trick in his UEFA Tournament debut as a 16-year-old for Northern Ireland’s U-19 team.... |
Coleraine | 7 |
| Ciaran Martyn Ciaran Martyn Ciarán Martyn is a midfielder for Glentoran of the Irish Premier League .-Career:Martyn played with Derry City since 2002 until his loan move to Fredrikstad F.K. in 2007. He is one of the few players who have paid to play for Derry City... |
Glentoran | 7 |
UEFA Champions League
After winning the league last season, Linfield were the league's sole representatives in the UEFA Champions League2011–12 UEFA Champions League
The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League is the 57th season of the European Cup, Europe's premier football tournament, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. The final venue will be the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany...
. They entered at the second qualifying round. They were drawn against Belarusian
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
side BATE Borisov, a club that reached the group stage of the 2008–09 competition.
Linfield were massive underdogs for the tie. However they produced a commendable performance in the first leg to earn a 1–1 draw. In the second leg in Belarus, Linfield again put on a brave display but ultimately lost 0–2 to their full-time opponents and exited the competition 1–3 on aggregate.
UEFA Europa League
2010–11's League and Irish Cup runners-up Crusaders, 3rd-placed Glentoran, and 4th-placed Cliftonville all earned a place in the UEFA Europa League. Glentoran and Cliftonville entered the competition at the first qualifying round. Crusaders entered at the second qualifying round.In the first qualifying round there were mixed results. Glentoran were drawn against Macedonian
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
club FK Renova
FK Renova
FK Renova is a football club based in Džepčište, Republic of Macedonia. They currently play in the Macedonian First League.-History:FK Renova was founded in 2003 but was derived from the football school established in 2000. As a result of successful work in 2003, the people from Dzepciste began to...
. They lost the first leg 1–2 away from home, but were 2–1 victors in the return leg at home. With the teams tied 3–3 on aggregate, the tie went to extra time and eventually to a penalty shoot-out. Glentoran won the shoot-out 3–2 to progress to the second qualifying round.
Cliftonville were drawn against Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
side The New Saints
The New Saints F.C.
The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club , also known as The New Saints or simply TNS is a full-time-professional British football club representing Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain in Powys, Wales and Oswestry in Shropshire, England . They play in the Welsh Premier League...
. They earned a creditable 1–1 draw in the first leg away from home. However, they succumbed to a 0–1 defeat in the second leg at home which meant they lost the tie 1–2 on aggregate and exited the competition.
In the second qualifying round Crusaders faced Premier League side Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
, runners-up of the competition in 2009–10. In the first leg at home, Crusaders produced a battling display, but in the end went down 1–3 to their English opponents. Glentoran were drawn against Vorskla Poltava
FC Vorskla Poltava
FC Vorskla Poltava ,is a professional football team which plays in the Ukrainian Premier League and represents the city of Poltava.- History :...
from Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. They too were defeated in the first leg at home, losing 0–2. In the second legs, both Crusaders and Glentoran crashed out of Europe after being outclassed by their opponents. Crusaders went down 0–4 to Fulham, losing the tie 1–7 on aggregate. Glentoran went down 0–3 to Vorskla Poltava, losing the tie 0–5 on aggregate.
That concluded the IFA Premiership's involvement in Europe this season.
UEFA coefficient and ranking
The IFA Premiership's coefficient points total after this season's European matches is 2.583. It is currently ranked by UEFAUEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
as the 48th best league in Europe out of 53.
The league earned 0.500 coefficient points this season.
- 46 WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
- 47
EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... - 48 Northern Ireland
- 49
LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south... - 50
ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia... - Full list