The Northern Ireland Seniors

Welcome to the home of
NORTH DOWN CLUB BANGOR LADIES

AFFILIATED TO THE NORTHERN IRELAND WOMEN'S
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Did you see the Recent highlight of Northern Irelands World Cup Campaign held in Romania on Sky? Having caught your attention, if at all, you might just have lingered there for a moment or two mildly amused or mesmerised, before quietly dismissing the spectacle as not really football at all - well, football it most certainly was - same ball, same laws, same passion, same commitment and probably the same bad refereeing.

Women’s football continues to be identified by a range of the world sports organisations as one of the fastest growing sports on the planet. It has now in access of 342 million participants worldwide and it continues to grow at an amazing pace. The last world cup in USA 2003 World Cup America attracted global television coverage and the final itself, America v. China drew a crowd of 80,000 fans. Yes, it’s football all right.
Northern Ireland also reflects the popularity of the sport, which is starting to infiltrate a number of traditionally no-go areas, for example 17% of girls grammar schools included girls’ football in their curriculum last year
Holywood’s Sullivan Upper took the first ever Schools Cup for Girls, which will be it's fourth year in 2004 Schools Cup in May 2000 - the first time that particular school had ever put a female football team into a competitive competition, incidentally beating another local side, Glenlola Collegiate in the final.
More and more youngsters, who frankly would have been dismissed as social outcasts or labelled “tomboys” or worse a few years ago, today are hungry to be involved and be given the opportunity to participate in one of the world’s most popular sports and why not? Ladies football in Northern Ireland however, is not a new thing, it has been around since the seventies and has structured itself with the formation of the Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association, the sports governing body, who are affiliated to and now working closely with the I.F.A., both associations recognising the need to develop and capitalise on the incredible demand that is clearly evident in Northern Ireland Unders 17s 2003 - more and more females, from all sections of the community, from ages from as young as 8 upwards want to play and whereas before, they would be shepherded towards socially acceptable sports like hockey, netball, today more and more parents are actively encouraging their daughters to get involved in what is, after all, a healthy, aerobic and active team sport - it’s coming and it’s coming to a school or a park near you.

Northern Ireland's only North Down club - Bangor Ladies
BACKGROUND

Currently in Northern Ireland there are 48 ladies football clubs competing in seven regionalised divisions. The clubs are scattered geographically all over the Province with clubs in Enniskillen, Omagh, Newcastle, Newtownards, Ballymena and Carnlough to name a few, as well as a concentration of clubs within the Greater Belfast area. The league runs through the summer from April to September, with the Seven Divisional championships, as well as the divisional cups and one league (Premier) cup up for grabs - so there is an awful lot of football being played at present all over the Province.
Incidentally, Germany won the Cup with a Golden Goal having being held by Sweden 1-1 at the end of an enthralling contest. EUROPE 2003 Germany are one of the leading nations in Europe having won the European Championships 5 times in the last 6 occasions it has been played, the most recent being when they beat Norway with a Claudia Muller extra time goal.

GUIDANCE NOTES FOR WOMEN’S DIVISION
PROSPECTIVE NEW TEAMS

BACKGROUND

NIWFA LEAGUE RULES and REGULATIONS 2006/2007

The N.I.W.F.A was established in 1976 for women’s soccer with the introduction of a summer league. The league has grown steadily and now has over forty teams competing in Cup and league competitions. At present the league is comprised of 6 major divisions:
Division I Premier
National Division
Intermediate A Division
Intermediate B Division
Intermediate C Division
Intermediate D Division

The league is managed by the League Council, which is made up of representatives who are elected at the Annual General Meeting which is held before the end of November each year, when new committee members are elected and any changes made to the memorandums and articles and league affairs.

Welcome to the home of
NORTH DOWN LADIES

North Down Ladies v. Strikers

The Northern Ireland Seniors