Northern Ireland Football League Champions
Discover Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Champions from season 1890-91 to season 2024-25. NIFL top tier is The Irish Premiership or Danske Bank Premiership due to sponsorship. Until 2013 the highest league was called It was formerly called the IFA Premiership. Linfield are the 2021-22 Irish Premiership Champions. Linfield and Rangers have won more National League Championships than any other club in the world. The Irish Football Association was the first in the world to introduce penalty kicks in September 1890. Irish League Winners are listed in chronological order. NIFL runs from August to April.
Northern Ireland Premiership Winners by Year
| Year | Champions 1891-1936 | | Year | Champions 1937-1982 | | Year | Champions 1983-2025 |
|---|
| 1891 | Linfield | | 1937 | Belfast Celtic | | 1983 | Linfield |
| 1892 | Linfield | | 1938 | Belfast Celtic | | 1984 | Linfield |
| 1893 | Linfield | | 1939 | Belfast Celtic | | 1985 | Linfield |
| 1894 | Glentoran | | 1940 | Belfast Celtic | | 1986 | Linfield |
| 1895 | Linfield | | 1941 | ABANDONED | | 1987 | Linfield |
| 1896 | Distillery | | 1942 | ABANDONED | | 1988 | Glentoran |
| 1897 | Glentoran | | 1943 | ABANDONED | | 1989 | Linfield |
| 1898 | Linfield | | 1944 | ABANDONED | | 1990 | Portadown |
| 1899 | Distillery | | 1945 | ABANDONED | | 1991 | Portadown |
| 1900 | Belfast Celtic | | 1946 | ABANDONED | | 1992 | Glentoran |
| 1901 | Distillery | | 1947 | ABANDONED | | 1993 | Linfield |
| 1902 | Linfield | | 1948 | Belfast Celtic | | 1994 | Linfield |
| 1903 | Distillery | | 1949 | Linfield | | 1995 | Crusaders |
| 1904 | Linfield | | 1950 | Linfield | | 1996 | Portadown |
| 1905 | Glentoran | | 1951 | Glentoran | | 1997 | Crusaders |
| 1906 | Cliftonville & Distillery | | 1952 | Glentoran | | 1998 | Cliftonville |
| 1907 | Linfield | | 1953 | Glentoran | | 1999 | Glentoran |
| 1908 | Linfield | | 1954 | Linfield | | 2000 | Linfield |
| 1909 | Linfield | | 1955 | Linfield | | 2001 | Linfield |
| 1910 | Cliftonville | | 1956 | Linfield | | 2002 | Portadown |
| 1911 | Linfield | | 1957 | Glenavon | | 2003 | Glentoran |
| 1912 | Glentoran | | 1958 | Ards | | 2004 | Linfield |
| 1913 | Glentoran | | 1959 | Linfield | | 2005 | Glentoran |
| 1914 | Linfield | | 1960 | Glenavon | | 2006 | Linfield |
| 1915 | Belfast Celtic | | 1961 | Linfield | | 2007 | Linfield |
| 1916 | ABANDONED | | 1962 | Linfield | | 2008 | Linfield |
| 1917 | ABANDONED | | 1963 | Distillery | | 2009 | Glentoran |
| 1918 | ABANDONED | | 1964 | Glentoran | | 2010 | Linfield |
| 1919 | ABANDONED | | 1965 | Derry City | | 2011 | Linfield |
| 1920 | Belfast Celtic | | 1966 | Linfield | | 2012 | Linfield |
| 1921 | Glentoran | | 1967 | Glentoran | | 2013 | Cliftonville |
| 1922 | Linfield | | 1968 | Glentoran | | 2014 | Cliftonville |
| 1923 | Linfield | | 1969 | Linfield | | 2015 | Crusaders |
| 1924 | Queen's Island | | 1970 | Glentoran | | 2016 | Crusaders |
| 1925 | Glentoran | | 1971 | Linfield | | 2017 | Linfield |
| 1926 | Belfast Celtic | | 1972 | Glentoran | | 2018 | Crusaders |
| 1927 | Belfast Celtic | | 1973 | Crusaders | | 2019 | Linfield |
| 1928 | Belfast Celtic | | 1974 | Coleraine | | 2020 | Linfield |
| 1929 | Belfast Celtic | | 1975 | Linfield | | 2021 | Linfield |
| 1930 | Linfield | | 1976 | Crusaders | | 2022 | Linfield |
| 1931 | Glentoran | | 1977 | Glentoran | | 2023 | Larne F.C. |
| 1932 | Linfield | | 1978 | Linfield | | 2024 | Larne F.C. |
| 1933 | Belfast Celtic | | 1979 | Linfield | | 2025 | Linfield |
| 1934 | Linfield | | 1980 | Linfield | | | |
| 1935 | Linfield | | 1981 | Glentoran | | | |
| 1936 | Belfast Celtic | | 1982 | Linfield | | | |
| | | | | | | |
*The 2019-20 Season ended early due to COVID-19 pandemic. Every club played 31 of the 38 competitions.
Northern Ireland Champions Total Wins
| N. Ireland Champions (13 clubs) |
|---|
| Linfield | 57 |
| Glentoran | 24 |
| Belfast Celtic | 14 |
| Distillery | 5.5 |
| Crusaders | 7 |
| Cliftonville | 4.5 |
| Portadown | 4 |
| Glenavon | 2 |
| Larne | 2 |
| Ards | 1 |
| Coleraine | 1 |
| Derry City | 1 |
| Queen's Island | 1 |
| Total Championships | 123 |
| 1906 - Shared after two drawn play-offs | |
| |
