Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club playing in the
NIFL Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...
– the top division 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 club was founded in September 1879 by
John McAlery
John McCredy McAlery (29 November 1848 – 3 December 1925) was an Irish association football pioneer. His accomplishments include organizing the first ever properly organized football match in the history of Irish football in 1878, founding the ...
in the suburb of
Cliftonville
Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay.
The original Palm Bay estate was ...
in north
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
. It is the oldest
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2019. Since 1890, the club has played home matches at
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without distu ...
. Cliftonville contests the
North Belfast derby
The North Belfast derby is the name given to football matches between Cliftonville F.C., Cliftonville and Crusaders F.C., Crusaders who play in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The two are separated by around 1.5 miles with Cliftonville based at S ...
with nearby rivals
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, and also has local rivalries with
Linfield and
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 ...
.
The club has won the
Irish League Premiership five times outright including one shared title, the
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
eight times and the
Irish League Cup
The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...
six times.
History
Founders of football in Ireland
The foundation of Cliftonville F.C. was announced on 20 September 1879 in notices in the ''
Belfast News-Letter
The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737.
The newspap ...
'' and ''
Northern Whig
The ''Northern Whig'' (from 1919 the ''Northern Whig and Belfast Post'') was a daily regional newspaper in Ireland which was first published in 1824 in Belfast when it was founded by Francis Dalzell Finlay. It was published twice weekly, Monday ...
'', which asked "gentlemen desirous of becoming members" of the "Cliftonville Association Football Club (Scottish Association Rules)" to communicate with
John McAlery
John McCredy McAlery (29 November 1848 – 3 December 1925) was an Irish association football pioneer. His accomplishments include organizing the first ever properly organized football match in the history of Irish football in 1878, founding the ...
, a young Belfast businessman and manager of the "Irish Tweed House", Royal Avenue, and later with premises in Rosemary Street, or R.M. Kennedy, and advertising an "opening practice today at 3.30".
[Malcolm Brodie, "100 Years of Irish Football", Blackstaff Press, Belfast (1980)]
Only one week after the advertisement was published, Cliftonville played its first recorded game at
Cliftonville Cricket Ground
Cliftonville Cricket Ground was a sports ground in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was previously used for cricket, football and hockey, hosting a football international in 1887, but was closed following sectarian attacks in 1972. It is now owned ...
against a selection of
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
players known as ''Quidnunces'', the game took place on 29 September 1879. The newly formed club, however, was beaten 2–1. In its first match against the Scottish club Caledonian, it fared worse: a 1–9 defeat.
In 1880, it was again John McAlery who was the moving spirit in the formation of the
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.
...
. He issued an invitation to interested parties in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
and district for a meeting to be called. The first meeting took place on 18 November 1880 at Queen's Hotel, Belfast, presided over by John Sinclair, from which the
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.
...
was formed. While Major Chichester was appointed president, McAlery became the honorary secretary of the association. This meeting also paved the way for the
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
.
Early years
![20190112 Solitude Main](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/20190112_Solitude_Main.jpg)
The first Irish Cup final, played at Cliftonville on 9 April 1881, saw a 1–0 defeat against
Moyola Park
Moyola Park is a country estate near Castledawson, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is currently the home of Lady Moyola, widow of Lord Moyola, former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The estate is and is home to Moyola Park G ...
, an opponent that was well known for "rough and brutal play". In the following year Cliftonville lost again in the Irish Cup final, 1–0 against
Queen's Island
Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic ...
. In 1883 Cliftonville won the cup for the first time with a 5–0 win over
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
.
During the 1880s Cliftonville also played in the English
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, competing in the competition proper in
1886–87 and
1887–88. In 1886–87 they finally lost in the third round 11–0 at home to
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
after beating
Blackburn Park Road 7–2 in an earlier round. In 1887–88 they scratched their match with Church (
Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
). The match lost to
Linfield 7–0 in
1888
In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
is the only FA Cup match to be played on Christmas Day.
The inaugural meeting of the
Irish Football League
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
was held on 14 March 1890 in the
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
Estate Office of the
Marquess of Dufferin and Ava with M. McNeice (Cliftonville) as its first president. Eight clubs agreed to participate: Cliftonville, Clarence, Milford, Oldpark, Distillery,
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 ...
, Ulster and Linfield. In the 1905–06 season Cliftonville won the
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
for the first time, a success that was repeated in the 1909–10 campaign.
In 1891 Cliftonville became the first Irish football club to use floodlights at games. As reported; "It seems to be incredible, but it is a fact that in 1891 two matches were played under electric lights at Cliftonville: Distillery defeated the Reds 4–2 and the Black Watch held Cliftonville to 2–2 draw. Kick-off in each case was at 8 pm with lights suspended across the pitch. These were dismantled later with the announcement that spectators found it difficult to follow the action and that "the player seemed to have all the fun in the middle". It had been a bold experience, but not a highly successful one with the public skeptical, almost contemptuous of this enterprising project."
In 1897 Cliftonville won the Irish Cup after a 3–1 win over Sherwood Foresters. A quite unusual protest was launched by Cliftonville after being beaten by
Belfast Celtic
Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for polit ...
in the 1900 Irish Cup competition. The Celtic goalposts were eventually measured and it was found out that they were much too short. A replay took place, in which Cliftonville reversed the 4–0 defeat in the earlier match. Subsequently they won the Cup that year, after beating
Bohemians
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
2–1 in the Final.
Long gap between victories
Being an all-amateur team until the early 1970s, Cliftonville subsequently played a minor role in Northern Irish football as professionalism took hold. It was only in 1976, under manager Jackie Hutton and his assistant Jackie Patterson, that Cliftonville experienced a "revolution in fortune" which peaked on 28 April 1979 in the
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
Final at
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...
. In front of 18,000 spectators, the largest attendance for many years, Cliftonville beat
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 ...
3–2 with goals from John Platt, Mike Adair and a late winner from Tony Bell. Unusually, the Reds were playing in yellow and blue that day. A similar strip was launched for the club's appearance in the 2009 showpiece.
In the years after this achievement, Cliftonville returned to the lower reaches of the
Irish League, and in the Nineties frequently ended bottom of the league but relegation was not applied at that time. However, things started to improve after winning the
Floodlit Cup in 1996 and the
County Antrim Shield
The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...
in 1997 for the first time in 88 years.
Under manager
Marty Quinn, a player from the cup-winning side of 1979, Cliftonville won the Irish League in 1997–98 for the first time in 88 years at Solitude after a 1–1 draw against Glentoran.
UTV's coverage of the post-match wait in the home changing-room, which erupted in celebration once the title win had been confirmed, brought the Reds' victory to a wide audience. After the Cliftonville players returned to the Solitude pitch, Reds Captain Mickey Donnelly lifted the Irish League trophy. Donnelly was made new Captain at the start of the season after replacing Marty Tabb.
Yet the championship was followed by another potential highlight that turned out badly for Cliftonville, when the 1999 final of the Irish Cup between Cliftonville and
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 ...
was cancelled due to a Cliftonville player who had featured in the semi-final being deemed ineligible. Portadown were given a walkover in the final.
Cliftonville subsequently entered the European arena for the first time, playing Nantes of France in the first round of the European Cup Winners Cup. The Reds lost 7–0 in France and 1–0 at Solitude. After the defeat in France, the French team's fans gave the Reds' goalkeeper Brian Johnstone, a standing ovation despite the scoreline as he had apparently performed miracles to prevent the score reaching double figures.
21st century
Former player and Captain Marty Tabb was appointed new manager and former defender Stephen Small was appointed Assistant Manager at the turn of the century. The Reds subsequently reverted to type, escaping relegation by beating
Ards
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin color ...
in relegation matches in two consecutive years. Nevertheless, in 2003 the Reds caused an upset by winning the
Irish League Cup
The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...
, beating
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...
. The Reds were back in the relegation play-off in the 2003–04 season, but comfortably disposed of
Armagh City
Armagh City was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency in Ireland.
Boundaries
This constituency was the parliamentary borough of Armagh in County Armagh. It was the successor constituency to the Armagh City constituency of the Parliament of ...
over the two legs. After a string of poor results, Tabb resigned in 2004. Former
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 can ...
boss
Liam Beckett
Liam Beckett MBE (born 17 July 1951) is a Northern Irish former football manager and player, who now works as a pundit and radio broadcaster.
Playing career
Starting his career after a five-year plumbing apprenticeship, Beckett won an Irish Le ...
took over but only managed the club for the 2004–05 season.
Since then the Reds have progressed, with a fifth-place finish in 2005–06 under new manager
Eddie Patterson, (who replaced
Liam Beckett
Liam Beckett MBE (born 17 July 1951) is a Northern Irish former football manager and player, who now works as a pundit and radio broadcaster.
Playing career
Starting his career after a five-year plumbing apprenticeship, Beckett won an Irish Le ...
), and his Assistant Tommy Breslin. Fifth was the club's highest finish since the league win of 1997–98.
The 2006–07 season was a successful one for the club getting to the League Cup final and winning the
County Antrim Shield
The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...
. Finishing third ensured European football for the first time in five years.
Cliftonville beat
Dinaburg
Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...
of
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
in the First Round of the
2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup
The 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the 19th and penultimate edition of the competition and took 50 entries. Three rounds were held, and 11 teams qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The draw took place at UEFA headquarters in ...
, the home leg was played at
Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...
, Belfast and finished 1–1 with Kieron O'Connor scoring the Cliftonville goal, on his competitive debut and the away leg was played at the Celtnieks Stadium in the Latvian city of Daugavpils. Mark Holland scored the only goal of the game, which brought the travelling Red Army to their feet and secured Cliftonville's first victory in European competition.
During the 2007–08 campaign Cliftonville's performances in the first half of the season had seemed to make them genuine title contenders, spending much of the early and middle part of the season top of the table, going top with five games to go, however a poor run of form in the final fixtures of the campaign ended their hopes of winning the biggest prize in local football. The Reds finished the league campaign in third position fourteen points adrift of Champions
Linfield.
However Cliftonville again secured European football, in the shape of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
. This success meant that the club became the first Northern Irish side to play in all of UEFA's competitions. This time being drawn against Danish giants
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, the home leg took place at
Mourneview Park
Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and is the home ground of NIFL Premiership club Glenavon. The stadium holds 4,160 and was originally built in 1895. The 2008–09 Irish League Cup, 2010–11 Iris ...
, Lurgan and resulted in a 4–0 defeat with the return leg two weeks later held in the Danish National Stadium,
Parken Stadium
Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...
and the result again was unfavourable – this time a 7–0 defeat.
During the 2008–09 campaign Cliftonville struggled in terms of their league performance but finished strongly to secure a top 6 finish. They won the County Antrim Shield and reached the Irish Cup final, 30 years since their previous victory in the competition. Alas it was not to be a victorious occasion with the Reds losing out to their near neighbours,
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. The season was a success on a personal note for captain
Chris Scannell, who finished top goalscorer in all competitions, and won the coveted
Ulster Footballer of the Year
The Ulster Footballer of the Year is the older of two association football player of the year awards in Northern Ireland. (The other is the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association award.) It is awarded by Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters ...
trophy.
The Reds began the following season, 2009–10, eager to carry on the largely good form of the last few months of the previous one. That run largely continued, with the highlight a 4–0 destruction in the derby game against
Linfield at
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think, or rest without distu ...
. The Reds finished second on 69 points, a 1–0 defeat away to Linfield in the penultimate game cost the Reds the championship.
The 2010–11 season began with a 1–0 aggregate win over Croatian side
HNK Cibalia
Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...
in the
second qualifying round
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
of the Europa league. Cliftonville lost to
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
in Bulgaria in the first match of the third qualifying round, 3–0. In the 2nd Leg Cliftonville lost 1–2 on the night which secured a 5–1 aggregate success for Sofia, who were allowed to remain in the competition when UEFA ruled that Cliftonville's appeal over the ineligibility of CSKA midfielder
Spas Delev
Spas Borislavov Delev ( bg, Спас Бориславов Делев; born 22 September 1989) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Ludogorets Razgrad and the Bulgarian national team.
Club career Youth ca ...
had not been lodged within the required 24-hour time frame.
At the end of the 2010–11 season, Eddie Patterson became the first manager to be sacked in the club's history. He was replaced by Tommy Breslin.
The 2012–13 season was the most successful in the club's history. A win in the
2012–13 Irish League Cup
The 2012–13 Irish League Cup (known as the Irn-Bru League Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 27th edition of Northern Ireland's secondary football knock-out cup competition. It was contested by the twelve members of the IFA Premiership, as wel ...
final in January 2013 over rivals
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
was followed up with a League Championship, courtesy of a ninety-second-minute penalty from George McMullan against
Linfield on 14 April 2013. The club missed out on a treble when they were defeated 3–1 after extra time in the
2012–13 Irish Cup
The 2012–13 Irish Cup was the 133rd edition of the premier knock-out cup competition in Northern Irish football since its introduction in 1881. The competition began on 15 September 2012 with the first round and ended on 4 May 2013 with the fin ...
final by
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 ...
on 4 May 2013.
The club started the following season in the
UEFA Champions league second qualifying round, losing to Scottish champions
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in both legs. In January 2014, the club lifted their second consecutive League Cup against the same final opponents as the previous season, Crusaders. A 3–2 penalty shoot-out victory after a 0–0 draw was enough to earn the club's third League Cup title overall. The next year, Cliftonville defeated Ballymena United 3–2 in the League Cup final at Windsor Park to secure a third League Cup in a row. On 13 February 2016, Cliftonville won its fourth League Cup four in a row by defeating Ards 3–0 in the final at Solitude. On 13 March 2022 Cliftonville won its sixth league cup against Coleraine at Windsor Park under management of Paddy McLaughlin in a thrilling final that ended 4–3 to the reds in extra time.
European record
Overview
Matches
UEFA ranking
Current squad
Out on loan
Managerial history
* Frankie Parks
*
Marty Quinn (October 1994 – October 1999)
* Liam Beckett
*
Eddie Patterson (22 July 2005 – 1 April 2011)
* Tommy Breslin (26 May 2011 – 15 September 2015)
*
Gerard Lyttle (September 2015 – March 2017)
* Barry Gray (9 May 2017 – 19 January 2019)
*
Paddy McLaughlin (4 February 2019 – present)
Honours
Senior honours
*
Irish League: 5 (inc. one shared)
**
1905–06 (shared),
1909–10,
1997–98,
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
2013–14
*
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
: 8
**
1882–83,
1887–88,
1896–97,
1899–1900,
1900–01,
1906–07,
1908–09,
1978–79
*
Irish League Cup
The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...
: 6
**
2003–04,
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
2013–14,
2014–15,
2015–16,
2021–22
*
County Antrim Shield
The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...
: 11
** 1891–92, 1893–94, 1897–98, 1925–26, 1978–79, 1996–97, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2019–20
*
Charity Shield: 2
** 1998, 2014
*
Gold Cup: 3
** 1922–23, 1932–33, 1980–81
*
Floodlit Cup: 1
** 1995–96
*
Belfast Charity Cup: 10
** 1883–84, 1885–86, 1886–87, 1887–88, 1888–89, 1896–97, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1923–24
*
Alhambra Cup
The Alhambra Cup was a football competition played for two seasons between clubs in the Irish League in 1921-22 and 1922-23. Six teams entered each season: Cliftonville, Distillery, Glenavon, Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a profession ...
: 1
** 1922–23
Intermediate honours
*
Irish League B Division
The NIFL Premier Intermediate League is the third division of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football league in Northern Ireland, and the highest intermediate division in Northern Ireland, occupying level three in ...
: 1
** 1953–54†
*
B Division Section 2/
Reserve League/
NIFL Premiership Development League
The NIFL Development League (prior to 2016, the NIFL Reserve League) is an intermediate Association football league in Northern Ireland consisting of the reserve teams of the twelve NIFL Premiership clubs.
Current members (2021–22)
* Ballymena ...
: 6
** 1980–81†, 2000–01†, 2011–12†, 2013–14†, 2015–16†, 2019–20†
*
Irish Intermediate Cup
The Irish Intermediate Cup is a Northern Irish football competition for teams of intermediate status, including NIFL Premiership reserve sides. It is a straight knock-out tournament and is currently sponsored by McCombs Coach Travel.
The curre ...
: 3
** 1895–96†, 1899–1900†, 1901–02†
*
George Wilson Cup: 5
** 1999–2000†, 2007–08†, 2012–13†, 2015–16†, 2016–17†
*
Steel & Sons Cup
The Steel & Sons Cup (also referred to as the Steel Cup) is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the North East Ulster Football Association (also known as the County Antrim & District Football Association).
The compe ...
: 6
** 1899–1900†, 1901–02†, 1906–07†, 1907–08†, 1913–14†, 1921–22†
*
McElroy Cup: 1
** 1919–20†
*
Clarence Cup Clarence may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division
* Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow
* Clarence River (New South Wales)
* Clarence Strait (Northern Territory)
* City of Clarence, a loca ...
: 1
** 1932–33‡
† Won by Cliftonville Olympic (reserve team)‡ Won by Cliftonville Strollers (reserve team)
Junior honours
* Irish Junior Cup: 5
** 1888–89†, 1892–93†, 1904–05‡, 1908–09‡, 1932–33‡
† Won by Cliftonville Olympic (reserve team)‡ Won by Cliftonville Strollers (reserve team)
See also
*
Club of Pioneers
The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country.
The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC, the first and oldest association football
Association football, mor ...
*
List of Cliftonville F.C. seasons
References
External links
Official Cliftonville FC Website
{{NIFL league
Association football clubs established in 1879
Association football clubs in Northern Ireland
NIFL Premiership clubs
Association football clubs in Belfast
1879 establishments in Ireland
Founding members of the Irish Football Association
Unrelegated association football clubs