The 2020–21 NIFL Premiership (known as the
Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
's highest national football league in this format since its inception in 2008, the 120th season of Irish league football overall, and the eighth season since the creation of the
Northern Ireland Football League
The Northern Ireland Football League (commonly abbreviated to NIFL), known historically, and still colloquially, as the Irish League, is the national football league of Northern Ireland. The Irish League was originally formed in 1890, with the l ...
. The ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland
The COVID-19 pandemic reached Northern Ireland in February 2020. The Department of Health reports 3,445 deaths overall among people who had recently tested positive. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency reports 5,029 where th ...
at the time meant that the start of the season was delayed by approximately two months. The 38-game season commenced on 16 October 2020 and concluded on 29 May 2021, with the European play-offs then taking place on 1 and 5 June 2021. The fixtures were released on 19 September 2020.
Linfield were the two-time defending champions, having been league winners in the previous two seasons - the
curtailed 2019–20 season seeing them win a then world record-equalling 54th league title. This season Linfield won a third consecutive title, once again equalling the world record for the most top flight league titles in club football, drawing level with
Rangers, who had just won their 55th Scottish title two months earlier. Linfield entered the
2021–22 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, while runners-up
Coleraine and 3rd-placed
Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882.
History
Early history
In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
joined the European play-off winners,
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...
, in the
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.
There was no relegation from the Premiership this season, after a majority of
NIFL Championship
The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championshi ...
clubs voted to cancel their 2020–21 season, having not played any league fixtures since the 2019–20 season had initially been suspended in March 2020.
The second and third tiers had not been granted 'elite' sporting status by the
IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
* Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK
* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
which was required in order to continue playing matches during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Teams
Twelve teams competed in the 2020–21 NIFL Premiership, eleven of which had retained their Premiership status from the
previous season. Last season's bottom Premiership club,
Institute
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes ca ...
, were relegated to the
NIFL Championship
The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championshi ...
after two seasons in the top flight, and were replaced by
Portadown
Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
, who were promoted to this season's Premiership as
2019–20 NIFL Championship winners.
This marked Portadown's return to the top flight for the first time since the
2016–17 season.
The promotion/relegation play-off did not take place the previous season, as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Stadia and locations
League table
Results
Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).
Matches 23–33
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team for the third time (either at home, or away).
Matches 34–38
For the final five matches the table was then split into two halves, with teams ranked 1st–6th in Section A and teams ranked 7th–12th in Section B. During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their respective section once. The fixtures were reversed from those played during rounds 23–33, ensuring that teams had played every other team in their respective section twice at home and twice away overall throughout the season.
Section A
Section B
Play-offs
UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs
The play-offs were 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. ''4th v. 7th'' and ''5th v. 6th'') in the semi-finals. The higher-ranked of the two semi-final winners also had home advantage in the final.
As Linfield won the
2020–21 Irish Cup and also qualified for the Champions League, the 3rd-placed team qualified for the Europa Conference League directly, vacating one of the play-off places. As a result, the remaining four clubs that finished in 4th–7th place competed for one place in the
2021–22 Europa Conference League first qualifying round.
The semi-finals were played on 1 June 2021, with the final played on 5 June 2021.
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...
were the play-off winners, qualifying for European football for the first time in the club's history.
Semi-finals
----
Final
Statistics
Top goalscorers
Clean Sheets
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 NIFL Premiership
NIFL Premiership seasons
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
2020–21 in Northern Ireland association football