The Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association was established to operate NIWFA league and Cup competitions on behalf of our membership, and to promote women’s football throughout Northern Ireland.
The inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association was held in the Post Office Youth Club, College Square North, Belfast on 26 November 1976.
Mary McVeigh was elected as the first Chair and the meeting discussed the formation of the league, its Constitution and rules as well as the recruitment of new teams, players etc. The Association agreed to play as a summer league under FA Rules with the only exception being that teams played 35 minutes each way instead of 45 minutes. This has since been amended to 45 minutes each way.
The 1977 season kicked off with three Divisions of six teams. However, it was considered more practical to reduce this to two divisions for the 1978 season.
From those early beginnings the NIWFA expanded to 46 teams in 2015. Since 2016, the Women’s Premiership division has been managed by NI Football League, who now also run a Women’s Academy league. The rest of women’s football in NI remains within the remit of the NIWFA.
Currently (in 2024), the NIWFA league has 63 teams with approximately 1,500 players (over the age of 15) competing in seven divisions (plus a Development League) during the months of April – September.
In addition to the various divisional titles there are also divisional cups, and a Super Cup open to all NIWFA clubs. The Irish FA also run a Women’s Challenge Cup competition, and some of the Divisional Associations organise women’s cup competitions too.
The NIWFA committee are keen to develop the women’s game in Northern Ireland and eager to assist clubs to improve their capacity and standards, both on and off the pitch.
The league has a dedicated 9-person committee and a referee co-ordinator to ensure the smooth day to day running of league affairs – these posts are all filled on a voluntary basis and the work carried out by the post holders is invaluable to women’s football.
The NIWFA maintains its own dedicated website – www.niwfa.org – committed to providing supporters and clubs with up to date details regarding news, fixtures, scores and current league tables.
The NIWFA is a well-established sports organisation with member clubs from all over Northern Ireland, and it welcomes applications from potential new clubs every year.
