The 2021–22 NIFL Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the 14th 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 121st season of the Irish League overall, and the ninth 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 season normally begins in early August, however, due to the previous season finishing a few weeks later than usual in late May 2021 as a result of the

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 ...

, the start of this season was pushed back. The 38-game season commenced on 27 August 2021 and will conclude on 30 April 2022, with the European play-offs taking place on 3 and 7 May. Linfield are the three-time defending champions, having been league winners in the previous three seasons - the 2020–21 season seeing them win a world record-equalling 55th league title. The champions will enter the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, while the runners-up and the play-off winners will join the

2021–22 Irish Cup The 2021–22 Irish Cup (known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the 142nd edition of the premier knock-out cup competition in Northern Irish football since its inauguration in 1881. The competition began on 7 ...

winners in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.

Teams

Twelve teams will compete in the 2021–22 NIFL Premiership, the same twelve teams from the previous season. No relegation took place from the previous season's Premiership, after a majority of second-tier

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. 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, with lower division clubs not having played any league fixtures since the 2019–20 season had initially been suspended in March 2020.

Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL 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 ...

finished bottom of the table the previous season, but were reprieved from relegation.

Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...

were also reprieved, having finished in 11th place. This would normally have required them to take part in the NIFL Premiership play-off against the qualifier from the NIFL Championship.

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 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.

Section A

Section B

Play-offs

UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs

Four or five of the clubs that finish in 3rd–7th place will compete for one place in the 2022–23 Europa Conference League first qualifying round, subject to holding a UEFA licence. 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. ''4th v. 7th'' and ''5th v. 6th'') in the semi-finals. The higher-ranked of the two semi-final winners also has home advantage in the final. The number of teams in the play-offs will be determined by the outcome of the

: *If the Irish Cup winners finish 7th or higher: one of the five play-off places will be vacated as the cup winners (or the 3rd-placed team if the cup winners also finish 1st or 2nd) will qualify for the Europa Conference League directly. *If the Irish Cup winners finish lower than 7th: all five clubs will compete in the play-offs, with an extra quarter-final tie being played between the 6th and 7th-placed clubs to decide which club will join the other three clubs in the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

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Final

NIFL Premiership play-off

The eleventh-placed club will face the club that qualifies from the 2021–22 NIFL Championship for one place in the following season's Premiership.