Newington Football Club (previously known as Newington Youth Club) is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in

NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championsh ...

. The club originates from the Newington area of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and ground shares with

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

side

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

History

The club was formed in north Belfast as Jubilee Olympic Football Club in 1979 and joined the Dunmurry League in 1980. The club changed its name to Newington Youth Club in 1986, won its first trophy—the Breen Cup—in 1987 and became the dominant team in the Dunmurry League for the remainder of their affiliation. In 1990–91 Newington became the first Dunmurry League club to win the County Antrim Junior Shield. The club joined the

Northern Amateur League The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...

in 1994. They played in Division 2C and won five trophies, including the league title in their first season. The following season saw them win Division 2B, gaining promotion to the top

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

division of the Amateur League in the process. Their greatest achievement in junior football came on 1 May 1997 when they won the biggest prize in junior football – the Irish FA Junior Cup. Newington defeated

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

team Lisbellaw United in the final. A Division 2A title followed and soon the club was elevated to intermediate status, gaining a place in Division 1B in 2000. Newington continued to go from strength to strength, winning 1B at the first attempt, followed by the Division 1A title in 2001–02. However, Newington's facilities at their home ground (Muckamore Park, Antrim) failed to meet the required standards to gain promotion to the Amateur League Premier Division. In 2004–05, Newington reached the quarter-finals of the

Steel & Sons Cup The Steel & Sons Cup (also referred to as the Steel Cup) is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the North East Ulster Football Association (also known as the County Antrim & District Football Association). The compe ...

, automatically qualifying for the

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster F ...

; and their first match against senior opposition. A 2–0 defeat at

Lisburn Distillery Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, Lisburn. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of the Nor ...

. At the end of that season, the club finished runners-up in Division 1A, but recent improvements to Muckamore Park meant that this time promotion to the Premier Division was realised. In 2005–06, only eleven years after joining the League in its lowest division, Newington won the Amateur League title (and Border Cup) at the first time of asking. This season also saw the club reach the quarter-finals of the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...

, losing out to

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

. In 2007–08, the club reached the semi-finals of the

Irish Intermediate Cup The Irish Intermediate Cup is a Northern Irish football competition for teams of intermediate status, including NIFL Premiership reserve sides. It is a straight knock-out tournament and is currently sponsored by McCombs Coach Travel. The cu ...

, and in 2008–09 won the Amateur League title for the second time. On 14 January 2012 the club managed what the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described as "one of the biggest shocks in

history" when they defeated

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

1–0 in the fifth round at the east Belfast giant's own ground,

The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...

. Rated 20–1 by bookmakers to win the match, the club triumphed through Neil Quinn's goal and were drawn to face

Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the I ...

in the sixth round. On 24 May 2013, the biggest game in the club's history, they achieved promotion to NIFL Championship 2, the third tier of national football. They faced

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

champions

Dollingstown Dollingstown is a large village in County Down, Northern Ireland, lying between Lurgan and Magheralin. It is within the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon district. In the 2011 census it had a population of 2,103 people. Dollingstown is in the to ...

in a two-legged play-off for promotion, and won the tie on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

after it finished 4–4 on aggregate. A 3–2 away defeat followed by a 2–1 home win was enough to seal promotion. In 2016, the NIFL Championship 2 underwent a renewal, transforming into the

NIFL Premier Intermediate League The NIFL Premier Intermediate League (Known as the Playr-Fit NIFL Premier Intermediate League for sponsorship reasons) is the third level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football league in Northern Ireland, and t ...

. Newington, a notable club during this transition, achieved significant success in the subsequent seasons. In 2017, Newington clinched the

Steel and Sons Cup The Steel & Sons Cup (also referred to as the Steel Cup) is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the North East Ulster Football Association (also known as the County Antrim & District Football Association). The compe ...

. In 2021 they once again were named victors of the same cup. The 2021/22 season saw Newington excel in the Premier Intermediate League, claiming the title and earning a promotion to the

. They finished ahead of

Bangor F.C. Bangor Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1918, hails from Bangor and plays its home matches at Clandeboye Park. Club colours are gold and royal blue. His ...

by 7 points and

Armagh City F.C. Armagh City Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. History The club was founded in 1964 as Milford Everton in the village of Milford, just outside Armagh city. The original name was ...

by 11 points. Entering the 2022/23 NIFL Championship, Newington landed in 9th place, consolidating their position in the league. This period reflected their adaptability and marked a phase of growth for the club in the competitive football landscape. After previously being known as Newington Youth F.C., the club are now known as Newington Football Club.

Grounds

The club originates in the Newington area of

, although owing to the lack of facilities for junior and intermediate clubs in north Belfast they have played home matches at Muckamore Park in Antrim, at

Brantwood FC Brantwood Football Club is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in the Ballymena & Provincial Football League. The club, founded in 1901, hails from Belfast and plays its home matches at Skegoneill Avenue. Club colours are royal ...

on Skegoneill Avenue, Richardson Park in

Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is a suburb, suburban town and townland near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin (District Electoral Area), Collin electoral ward for the Local government in Northern Ireland, local government district of Belfast C ...

, and The Cliff in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

. In 2008, the club became involved in a partnership with

IFA Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

club

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

, with a view to securing funding for a new, shared ground in north Belfast. As part of the arrangement, Newington used Crusaders’ ground

Seaview Seaview or Sea View may refer to: Places * Clifton Beach, Karachi, also known as Sea View, a beach in Pakistan * Sea View, Dorset, a suburb in England * Seaview, Isle of Wight, a small village in England * Seaview, Lower Hutt, an industrial subur ...

for home matches in 2008–09, marking a return to home matches in the club's native north Belfast. From the 2013–14 season, the club's first season in NIFL Championship 2, until 2017–18, the club played at Seaview again. In 2018, the club moved to share

Solitude Solitude, also known as social withdrawal, is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may wo ...

with

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of Margate in the Thanet District, Thanet district of Kent, England. It includes the Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay estate, built in the 1930s with wide avenues and detached and semi-detached houses with driveways, gar ...

Northern Ireland Football League
/ref> They would play there until 2023, when they would move to

Inver Park Inver Park is a football stadium in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, vari ...

to groundshare with

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

Honours

Intermediate honours

: 1 ** 2021–22 *

: 2 ** 2017–18, 2021–22 *

: 5 ** 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13 * Border Cup: 1 ** 2005–06

Junior honours

* Irish Junior Cup: 1 ** 1996–97 * County Antrim Junior Shield: 1 ** 1990–91

Sources

* Newington Football Club, ''And if you know your history...'', https://web.archive.org/web/20090514235835/http://www.newingtonyc.co.uk/history.html. Retrieved 14–05–09.

References

{{NIFL league Association football clubs in Northern Ireland Association football clubs established in 1979 Association football clubs in Belfast 1979 establishments in Northern Ireland NIFL Premier Intermediate League clubs