Immaculata Football Club is an intermediate,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club based in west

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

and playing in the Premier Division of the Northern Amateur Football League. The club plays in sky blue Immaculata F.C.
/ref> and plays home games at Grosvenor Recreation Centre (The Cage) on the Grosvenor Road in West Belfast close to the Westlink. Immaculata FC is currently managed by Brian McCaul.

History

The club was established in 1944 by the

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and c ...

as a football and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

club. Although they were initially most noted for their youth teams Immaculata's seniors also played initially in the now defunct Lisburn League and then in the Dunmurry League (now the Belfast & District League). They play in the Northern Amateur Football League (NAFL), and have spent most of their time in the league's lower divisions. However, in 2008–09 the club won the NAFL's Division 2C, the first of what was five back to back title wins and resultant promotions. They won 2B the following year and clinched the 2A title, and promotion from the junior to intermediate grade in 2010–11. This was followed by victory in Division 1C in 2011–12 before they secured the Division 1B title in 2012–13. They were promoted again the following season, finishing as runners-up in Division 1A for a sixth consecutive promotion. The club qualified for the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. I ...

for the first time in 2011–12, reaching the fourth round by overcoming Bourneview Young Men, Magherafelt Sky Blues and Crumlin Star before losing to Banbridge Town. They made the fifth round the following year, losing to

Ards Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin col ...

, having earlier defeated Markethill Swifts in the first round, Newbuildings United in the second round, Dunmurry Recreation in the third and Ards Rangers in the fourth. In 2015–16 Immaculata won the NAFL Premier Division. Under manager Kevin Lawlor the club won 23 of their 26 league games to finish seven points clear of closest challengers Ards Rangers.Immaculata are just champion as they overcome Ards Rangers on final day
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Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

Honours

Intermediate honours

* Northern Amateur Football League: 1 **2015-16 * Clarence Cup: 5 **2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17

Junior honours

*Irish Junior Cup: 3 **2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 *County Antrim Junior Shield: 2 **1994–95, 2008–09

Notes

External links

Club web site

nifootball.co.uk
- (For fixtures, results and tables of all Northern Ireland amateur football leagues) {{Football in Northern Ireland Association football clubs in Northern Ireland Northern Amateur Football League clubs Association football clubs in Belfast