2023–24 NIFL Premiership

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NIFL Premiership 2023–24
Season information
Dates	4 August 2023–
Season statistics
← 2022–23	2024 →

The 2023–24 NIFL Irish Premiership (known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the 16th season of the Irish Premiership, the highest level of league football in Northern Ireland, the 123rd season of Irish League football overall, and the 11th season of the league operating as part of the Northern Ireland Football League.

The champions qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up, Conference League play-off winners, and the 2023–24 Irish Cup winners (or third-placed team if the Irish Cup winners finish in the top two of the Irish Premiership) qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League first qualifying round. The ninth-placed team qualify for the NIFL Premiership play-off. The bottom-placed team are relegated to the 2024–25 NIFL Championship.

Teams

Team changes

Twelve teams competed in this season's Premiership, eleven of which returned from the previous season. The 38-game season commenced on 4 August 2023. Larne are the defending champions, having won their first league title in the previous season. Portadown were relegated to the NIFL Championship after three years as a Premiership club, and replaced by Championship winners Loughgall, who returned to the top-flight for the first time since 2007. 11th-placed Dungannon Swifts defeated Annagh United in the Premiership play-off to retain their top-flight status.

Stadia and locations

Club	Stadium	Location	Capacity
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)
Loughgall	Lakeview Park	Loughgall	3,000
Newry City	The Showgrounds	Newry	2,275 (1,080 seated)

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Linfield	17	14	1	2	44	16	+28	43	Champions League first qualifying round
2	Larne	18	12	5	1	37	13	+24	41	Conference League first qualifying round
3	Cliftonville	18	12	2	4	39	9	+30	38	Conference League first qualifying round play-off
4	Crusaders	17	9	4	4	35	18	+17	31
5	Glentoran	18	8	4	6	32	19	+13	28
6	Coleraine	18	7	4	7	23	29	−6	25
7	Glenavon	18	7	1	10	21	32	−11	22
8	Loughgall	18	6	3	9	28	35	−7	21
9	Carrick Rangers	18	6	2	10	24	45	−21	20
10	Dungannon Swifts	18	3	6	9	25	35	−10	15
11	Ballymena United	18	3	1	14	11	36	−25	10	NIFL Premiership play-off
12	Newry City	18	3	1	14	16	48	−32	10	NIFL Championship

Updated to match(es) played on 25 November 2023. Source: Northern Ireland Football League, Soccerway
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

Results

Matches 1–33

For matches 1–22, each team plays every other team twice (home and away). For matches 23–33, each team plays every other team for the third time (either at home or away).

Home \ Away	BYM	CRK	CLF	COL	CRU	DUN	GLA	GLT	LAR	LIN	LGL	NEW	BYM	CRK	CLF	COL	CRU	DUN	GLA	GLT	LAR	LIN	LGL	NEW
Ballymena United	—		0–2		1–2			0–2		0–1	1–3	0–2	—		—				—	—		—		—
Carrick Rangers	0–1	—		2–0		2–1		2–1				0–2	—	—		—	—			—	—		—
Cliftonville		4–0	—	5–0	a	5–0	3–0		1–1		1–1			—	—		a	—		—			—	—
Coleraine	2–1			—	0–4		4–1		0–0	1–3		3–1	—		—	—	—			—				—
Crusaders		9–0	0–3		—	2–0	2–0				1–1		—		—		—	—				—	—	—
Dungannon Swifts	0–1			2–2		—	3–1			2–3	1–2		—	—		—		—	—			—	—
Glenavon	1–0	2–1					—	0–1	0–4			1–3		—	—	—	—		—		—			—
Glentoran			1–0	1–2	2–2	0–0		—	1–2	a							—	—	—	—	—	—
Larne	3–0	4–1			1–1	4–4			—	2–0		4–0	—		—	—	—	—			—
Linfield		3–3	2–1		2–0		4–2	2–0		—		6–1		—	—	—			—	a	—	—	—
Loughgall		3–4		1–2			2–2	0–1	1–0	0–2	—		—			—			—	—	—		—
Newry City			0–3		0–4	2–2		2–4			0–3	—		—				—		—	—	—	—	—

Updated to match(es) played on 7 October 2023. Source: Northern Ireland Football League, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Matches 34–38

For the final five matches, the table splits into two halves, with the top six teams forming Section A and the bottom six teams forming Section B. 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.

Play-offs

UEFA Conference League play-offs

Four or five of the clubs that finish in 3rd–7th place compete for one place in the 2024–25 Conference League first qualifying round. 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. 3rd v. 7th and 5th v. 6th) in the semi-finals. The higher-ranked of the two semi-final winners also gains home advantage in the final.

Irish Premiership play-off

The eleventh-placed club will face the second-placed club from the 2023–24 NIFL Championship for one place in the following season's Premiership.

External links

• Official website

Template:2023–24 in Northern Irish association football