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IFA Premiership Betting Guide

 

The IFA Premiership, formerly known as the Irish Premier League, is Northern Ireland’s highest level professional football tournament. Whilst the league does not have a large following outside Ireland, it is recognised as being one of the most open and competitive football leagues in Europe.

The IFA Premiership is contested by 12 football clubs. The season is divided into two parts, with the participating clubs first competing in 3 rounds of round robin matches against the other clubs in the league, before the league is split in two.

The top six clubs in the league then play each other once to determine the league champion, as well as which teams will qualify for Europe. The bottom six clubs play each other once to determine the two clubs that will be relegated to the IFA Championship.

IFA Premiership Betting

In spite of the IFA Premiership’s obscurity compared to its more famous British cousins, the English and Scottish Premier Leagues, it nevertheless commands a strong following in Ireland and is also followed by expatriate communities in the United Kingdom.

IFA Premiership betting markets are most easily found via sportsbooks that offer live betting. Alternatively, Ireland’s two biggest bookmakers, Paddy Power and Boylesports, offer comprehensive coverage of IFA Premiership betting for their domestic markets.

European Leagues - Carling Premiership
Winner -
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Crusaders4
Cliftonville7
Glentoran8

IFA Premiership History

Founded in 1890, the Irish Football League is the world’s second oldest football league, after the English Football League. The Irish Football League originally comprised clubs from throughout Ireland, however, this changed in 1921 when the country, and the league, were split in two.

For decades clubs from Belfast dominated the Irish Football League, but this started to change after the partition of Ireland, as clubs from other towns began to make their presence felt in the tournament. In 1952 Glenavon became the first club not from Belfast to win the league.

In recent decades the IFA Premiership has adopted several different formats and league structures, and the number of competing clubs fluctuated from one year to the next. The final round of reorganisation took place prior to the 2008/2009 season, with the objective of creating a high quality, financially sustainable professional league.

Changes included reducing the number of clubs participating in the league to 12. This move aroused controversy, as clubs were no longer selected only according to their standings in the previous season, but also by using a list of assessment criteria devised by the IFA Premiership which focused on club resources, financial management and performances.


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