The 2022–23 NIFL Irish Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the 15th season of Northern Ireland's highest national football league in this format since its inception in 2008, the 122nd season of the Irish League overall. The 38-game season commenced on 12 August 2022 and is due to conclude on 29 April 2023.
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12 Aug 2022 – 29 Apr 2023 |
| Matches played | 57 |
| Goals scored | 176 (3.09 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Crusaders 5–1 Dungannon Swifts (13 August 2022) |
| Biggest away win | Portadown 1–6 Linfield (28 January 2023) |
| Highest scoring | Carrick Rangers 4–3 Crusaders (1 October 2022) |
| Highest attendance | 7,134 Linfield 0–3 Glentoran (14 October 2022) |
| Lowest attendance | 274 Carrick Rangers 3–0 Dungannon Swifts (15 October 2022) |
← 2021–22 2023-24 →
All statistics correct as of 11 March 2023. | |
Linfield are the four-time defending champions, having been league winners in the previous four seasons - the 2021–22 season seeing them win a world record 56th league crown.
The winners will enter the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, while the runners-up will join the Irish Cup winners and the play-off winners in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round.
TeamsEdit
Twelve teams will compete in this season's Premiership, eleven of which return from the previous season. Warrenpoint Town finished bottom of the table the previous season, and were relegated to the NIFL Championship after five years as a Premiership club, with Championship winners Newry City promoted to replace them for this season's Premiership. 11th-placed Portadown retained their Premiership status after defeating Annagh United 4–2 on aggregate in the Premiership play-off.
Stadia and locationsEdit
| Club | Stadium | Location | Capacity[1][2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |
| Newry City | The Showgrounds | Newry | 2,275 (1,080 seated) |
| Portadown | Shamrock Park | Portadown | 3,940 (2,765 seated) |
League tableEdit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larne (X) | 33 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 57 | 18 | +39 | 73 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Linfield (X) | 33 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 70 | 25 | +45 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[b] |
| 3 | Cliftonville (X) | 33 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 61 | 41 | +20 | 66 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League play-offs[c] |
| 4 | Crusaders (X) | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 65 | 37 | +28 | 62 | |
| 5 | Glentoran (X) | 32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 63 | 23 | +40 | 61 | |
| 6 | Coleraine (X) | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 53 | 30 | +23 | 58 | |
| 7 | Glenavon (Y) | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 49 | 57 | −8 | 38 | |
| 8 | Carrick Rangers (Y) | 33 | 11 | 4 | 18 | 41 | 65 | −24 | 37 | |
| 9 | Ballymena United (Y) | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 32 | |
| 10 | Newry City (Y) | 33 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 31 | 66 | −35 | 23 | |
| 11 | Dungannon Swifts (Y) | 33 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 22 | 76 | −54 | 23 | Qualification for the NIFL Premiership play-off |
| 12 | Portadown (Y) | 32 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 22 | 78 | −56 | 16 | Relegation to the NIFL Championship |
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[3]
(X) Assured of a top six place; (Y) Assured of a bottom six place
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
- ^ The 2022–23 Irish Cup winners and the play-off winners will also enter the Europa Conference League first qualifying round.
- ^ One play-off place will be vacated if the 2022–23 Irish Cup winners finish 7th or higher, as the cup winners (or the 3rd-placed team if the cup winners finish 1st or 2nd) will qualify for the Europa Conference League directly.
ResultsEdit
Matches 1–22EditDuring matches 1–22 each team plays every other team twice (home and away). |
Matches 23–33EditDuring matches 23–33 each team plays every other team for the third time (either at home or away).
|
Matches 34–38Edit
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-offsEdit
UEFA Europa Conference League play-offsEdit
Four or five of the clubs that finish in 3rd–7th place will compete for one place in the 2023–24 Europa 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 will also have home advantage in the final.
NIFL Premiership play-offEdit
The eleventh-placed club will face the second-placed club from the 2022–23 NIFL Championship for one place in the following season's Premiership.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "AQW 1178/11". niassembly.gov.uk. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ "Sport NI Annual review 2008/09" (PDF). sportni.net. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ "NIFL Premiership Rules 2020–21" (PDF). NIFL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
