The 2014–15

NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championsh ...

(known as the

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season since its establishment after a major overhaul of the league system in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, and the second season that the league is being operated by the

Northern Ireland Football League The Northern Ireland Football League (abbreviated to NIFL), formerly known as and still commonly referred to as the Irish League, is the national football league of Northern Ireland. The Irish League was originally formed in 1890, with the leag ...

(NIFL), which took over from 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 (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...

(IFA) for the 2013–14 season onwards. The season began on 8 August 2014 and concluded on 2 May 2015.

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 th ...

won the Championship 1 title, winning promotion back to the top flight for the first time since their relegation in the 2011–12 season. Bangor finished as runners-up – the Promotion/relegation play-off place – and faced Warrenpoint Town from the Premiership for a place in next season's Premiership. After a 2–2 draw on aggregate after extra time, Warrenpoint Town won 3–1 on penalties and retained their Premiership status for next season. In the bottom two, Dundela and

PSNI The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it w ...

were relegated to Championship 2.

Lurgan Celtic Lurgan Celtic Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club based in Lurgan, County Armagh, that currently plays in the Mid-Ulster Football League Junior Division 1. The club was founded 1903 and reformed in 1970, and plays in a s ...

and

Annagh United Annagh United Football Club (The name 'Annagh' ) is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. The club, founded in 1963, hails from Portadown and plays its home matches at the BMG Arena. The club home c ...

replaced them in Championship 1, after finishing first and second in Championship 2. For the second successive season, a club was relegated to regional football. Ballymoney United finished bottom of Championship 2 and were relegated to a regional division for the following season.

Changes from 2013–14

Competition changes

League restructure proposals to be introduced over a three-season period were approved by the NIFL on 25 June 2014. The first phase, coming into effect this season, amended the Championship rules: * Promotion/relegation play-off – the highest ranked club with a Championship licence, finishing in positions 2–6 in Championship 1 will participate in a promotion/relegation play-off for a place in the Premiership. Prior to this season the club had to finish as runners-up to take part in the play-off. * Championship 2 – the bottom two clubs in this season's Championship 2 will be relegated to regional football. If there are no regional champions eligible for promotion, only the bottom club will be relegated. Championship 2 will reduce in size to 14 clubs in the 2015–16 season.

Team changes

Institute An institute is an organizational 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 ...

won the Championship 1 title, winning promotion back to the top flight for the first time since the 2009–10 season. They were replaced by

Ards Ards (or ARDS, ARDs) may refer to: Medical * ARDS, Acute respiratory distress syndrome * ARDs, age-related diseases Places * Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland ** Ards (territory), several historical territorial divisions on the Ards Peninsula ...

, after they had finished bottom of the NIFL Premiership. In the bottom two, Limavady United and Coagh United were relegated to Championship 2. Armagh City and

replaced them in Championship 1, after finishing first and second in Championship 2. For the first time since the Championship was inaugurated in 2008, a club was relegated to regional football. Killymoon Rangers finished bottom of Championship 2 and were relegated to the Ballymena & Provincial League for the following season. Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A side

Dollingstown Dollingstown is a large village in County Down, Northern Ireland, lying between Lurgan and Magheralin. It is within the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon district. In the 2011 census it had a population of 2,103 people. Dollingstown is in the to ...

took their place in Championship 2, after winning the promotion play-off against Brantwood 6–4 on aggregate. Also leaving Championship 2 was Chimney Corner. In July 2014, the club announced that they would be resigning from the Championship to join the Ballymena & Provincial League for the 2014–15 season. No club replaced them in Championship 2, which meant that the division was reduced in size to 15 clubs. Promoted from Championship 1 to the Premiership *

(1st in NIFL Championship 1) Relegated from the Premiership to Championship 1 *

(12th in NIFL Premiership) Promoted from Championship 2 to Championship 1 * Armagh City (1st in Championship 2) *

(2nd in Championship 2) Relegated from Championship 1 to Championship 2 * Coagh United (13th in Championship 1) * Limavady United (14th in Championship 1) Promoted from

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

to Championship 2 *

(1st in MUFL Intermediate A Division - promoted via play-off) Relegated from Championship 2 to Ballymena & Provincial League * Chimney Corner (14th in Championship 2 – club resigned) * Killymoon Rangers (16th in Championship 2)

Championship 1

Stadia and locations

League table

Results

Each team will play every other team twice (once at home, and once away) for a total of 26 games.

Championship 2

Stadia and locations

League table

Results

Each team plays every other team twice (once at home, and once away) for a total of 28 games.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nifl Championship 2014-15 2014-15

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...