Soccer Trivia

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Northern Ireland

 The Irish FA was founded on 18 November 1880 at the Queen's Hotel, Belfast, making it the fourth oldest governing body in the world.

Ireland changed to green shirts against England on 17 October 1931. Up until then they had worn blue.

The 1983-84 British Championship, exactly 100 years after the first, was the last.  Northern Ireland won the competition, only their third outright success ever in the competition, and kept the trophy.  

Ireland's first international match was against England at the Knock Ground, Bloomfield in East Belfast in 1882.  Ireland lost 13-0.

Distillery's RS Johnston scored Ireland first international goal in a 7-1 defeat against Wales on 25 February 1882 in Wrexham.

Ireland won their first-ever match in March 1887 when they beat Wales 4-1.  It had taken five years from the date of their first international match.

On 18 February 1882, two years after the founding of the Irish FA, Ireland made their international debut against England, losing 13-0 in a friendly played at Bloomfield Park in Belfast. This remains the record win for England and the record defeat for the Northern Ireland team. The Irish line-up that day included Samuel Johnston, who at the age of 15 years and 153 days became the youngest international debutant of the 1800s. On 25 February 1882 Ireland played their second international against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham and an equaliser from Johnston became Ireland’s first ever goal. The goal also saw Johnston become the 1800s youngest ever international goalscorer.

In 1920 Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. In 1922, Southern Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State, later to become Republic of Ireland. Amid these political upheavals, a rival football association, the Football Association of Ireland, emerged in Dublin in 1921 and organised a separate league and international team. In 1923, at a time when the home nations had withdrawn from FIFA, the FAI was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of the Irish Free State on the condition that it changed its name to the Football Association of the Irish Free State. The Irish FA continued to organise its national team on an all-Ireland basis.

Between 1928 and 1946 the IFA were not affiliated to FIFA and the two Ireland teams co-existed, never competing in the same competition. However on 8 March 1950, in a 0-0 draw with Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, the IFA fielded a team that included four players who were born in the Irish Free State. As well as being part of the qualifier for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. All four players had previously played for the FAI in their qualifiers and as a result had played for two different associations in the same FIFA World Cup tournament.

After complaints from the FAI, FIFA intervened, and restricted players' eligibility based on the political border. In 1953 FIFA ruled neither team could be referred to as Ireland, decreeing that the FAI team be officially designated as the Republic of Ireland, while the IFA team was to become Northern Ireland. The IFA objected and in 1954 was permitted to continue using the name Ireland, and to select players from throughout the island in the non-FIFA regulated British Home Championship.

After a series of heavy defeats the Irish FA changed its rules in 1899 governing the selection of non-resident players. Before then the Ireland team selected its players exclusively form the Irish League, in particular the three Belfast-based clubs Linfield, Cliftonville and Distillery. On 4 March 1899 for the game against Wales, McAteer included four Irish players based in England. The change in policy produced dividends as Ireland won 1-0.

In 1982, Norman Whiteside became the youngest ever player in the World Cup finals, a record that still stands.

David Healy broke the record for goals scored in one Euro campaign, previously held by Davor Suker of Croatia, by scoring 13 times in Northern Ireland's brave, but ultimately doomed, attempt to qualify for Euro 2008. Healy scored thrice against Spain, twice against Sweden, 5 times against Liechtenstein, once against Denmark, once against Latvia, and also scored against Iceland. He also became the first player ever to score 2 hat tricks for Northern Ireland. 

Manchester United legend John Carey captained the Republic of Ireland to a 2–0 victory over England at Goodison Park in 1949, thereby inflicting the first ever defeat on an England team in a full international fixture played on home soil. As a result of his military service, and the ongoing disputes between the two football associations in Ireland over player selection, Carey also qualified to play for Northern Ireland after 1945. He took the opportunity, and played for both Northern Ireland and the republic in the four years following the war. In the space of three days in 1948 he played for both Irish teams, each time against England.

Chile featured in Northern Ireland’s smallest gate when only 2,500 saw the match at Belfast on 26 May 1989.