Foundation of the IFA The IFA was formed on 18 November 1880 by seven football clubs mostly in the
Belfast area, as the organising body for the sport across all of Ireland. A meeting was called by
Cliftonville of other football clubs that followed the rules set out by the
Scottish Football Association (SFA). At that meeting, on 18 November of that year, seven clubs formed the IFA, making it the fourth oldest national football association in the world (after those of
England,
Scotland and
Wales). The founding members were:
Alexander,
Avoniel, Cliftonville,
Distillery,
Knock,
Moyola Park and
Oldpark. The IFA's first decision was to form an annual challenge cup competition similar to the
FA Cup and
Scottish Cup competitions, called the
Irish Cup. Two years later,
Ireland played its first international against
England, losing 13–0 (which remains a record for both teams; a record win for England, and a record loss for (Northern) Ireland).
North/South split and the foundation of the Football Association of Ireland Shortly after the
partition of Ireland, in 1921, the
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was established as a rival association to regulate the game in what was to become the
Irish Free State. The immediate cause of the split lay in a bitter dispute over the venue for the replay of an
Irish Cup match in 1921 involving
Glentoran of
Belfast and
Shelbourne of
Dublin. When the first cup match was drawn in Belfast, because of the
Irish war of independence, the IFA reneged on a promise to play the replay in Dublin and scheduled the rematch again for Belfast. Shelbourne refused to comply and forfeited the Cup. Such was the anger over the issue that the
Leinster Football Association broke away from the IFA and formed its own national association. Those behind the FAI believed that football should be regulated by a federation based in the Irish Free State's capital,
Dublin; they also accused the IFA of neglecting the development of the game in the South. The IFA's supporters argued that the federation should be based where the game was mainly played – namely
Ulster, and its principal city
Belfast. Both associations claimed to represent the whole of the island, each competing internationally under the name "Ireland" and selecting players from both the rival national leagues, which also split at this time. Interventions by
FIFA gave the FAI
de jure organising rights over the 26 counties of the Republic, with the IFA restricted to Northern Ireland. From the 1950s onwards, the IFA no longer claimed it was the association for the whole of Ireland. In 1960, the association moved to Windsor Avenue in south Belfast, in a building once occupied by
Thomas Andrews. The IFA moved again in 2016 to its current location at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast. The IFA continued to regulate the game in Northern Ireland, and all results obtained by the Irish national side and records in the
Irish Football League and the cup competition stand as Northern Irish records.
Summary :1880 – IFA founded in Belfast, representing all of Ireland ("Ireland") :1921 – FAI founded in Dublin, representing Southern Ireland ("Irish Free State") :1936 – FAI begins also selecting Northern players ("Ireland"/"Éire") :1946 – FAI stops selecting Northern players ("Republic of Ireland" as of 1954) Therefore, :IFA (today Northern Ireland) represented all of Ireland between 1880–1950 :FAI (today Republic of Ireland) represented all of Ireland between 1936–1946 Along with the other
Home Nations' associations (the
English FA, the
Scottish Football Association, and the
Football Association of Wales), the IFA sits on the
International Football Association Board, which is responsible for the laws of the game. The IFA continues to have responsibility for the running of the
Northern Irish national team. ==Women's football==