Irish Football Association
Women national U-19, U -17
The Irish Football Association (IFA ), the Football Association of Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1880 as an association for the whole of Ireland, as this still part of the United Kingdom, and served as such until the division of the island for soccer across the island. The IFA should not be confused with the Football Association of Ireland ( FAI), which was founded in 1921 in the south of Ireland and was responsible for football in the Irish Free State and today is the association of the Republic of Ireland.
History
Football clubs from Belfast founded at a meeting at Cliftonville FC on 18 November 1880, the Irish Football Association to organize their sport throughout Ireland. The IFA was immediately followed by the three other organizations of the United Kingdom - England, Scotland and Wales - and is therefore the fourth oldest football association in the world. First official act of the founders was to produce a cup competition along the lines FA and the Scottish Cup, the Irish Cup to the call to life. Two years later, the first time played an Irish national team in an international match.
Shortly after the partition of Ireland was the Football Association of Ireland founded in the southern part, the recognized 1923 as the Football Association of the Irish Free State by the world football governing body FIFA. Both associations, the FAI and IFA, had claimed to represent the whole island, and both came with teams under the name of Ireland, that Ireland, at. Both associations appealed players from Northern Ireland and from the Free State in their national selections. From 1928 to 1946, the IFA was not a member of FIFA. The national teams of both organizations also never played until 1950 in the same competitions.
The world football governing body FIFA in 1954 certain that the team of IFA as Northern Ireland as Northern Ireland has been so designated, the future and the team from the Republic ran as Republic of Ireland. Both associations were only allowed to nominate players who were born within its own borders. The IFA was then their claim to, to represent the whole of Ireland, but remains the same association, which was responsible for the entire island until 1921. Results of the Irish national team and league and cup stats before the separation are therefore attributed to the IFA and therefore Northern Ireland.
Together with the other three Home Nations as indicated associations of England, Scotland and Wales, the IFA is a permanent member of the International Football Association Board, which is responsible for the FIFA rules.
The IFA is still responsible for the Northern Ireland national football team. Its affiliated Northern Ireland Women's Football Association ( NIWFA ) organized women's football in Northern Ireland.
UEFA five year ranking
Position in the UEFA five year ranking ( in parentheses the last year placement). The abbreviation CL and EL countries behind the coefficients indicate the number of representatives in the 2014/15 season of the Champions League and the Europa League.
- 45 (43 ) Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (Cup ) - coefficient: 3,500 - CL: 0 EL: 1
- 46 (49 ) Luxembourg Luxembourg (league, cup ) - coefficient: 3.375 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 47 (48 ) Northern Ireland Northern Ireland (league, cup ) - coefficient: 3.083 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 48 (46 ) Wales Wales (league, cup ) - coefficient: 2.583 - CL: 1, EL: 3
- 49 (47 ) Estonia (league, cup ) - coefficient: 2.208 - CL: 1, EL: 3
As of the end of the European campaign of 2012/13