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PSNI F.C.

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PSNI
Full namePolice Service of Northern Ireland Football Club
Nickname(s)PSNI F.C.
Founded1928 (as RUC)
GroundUpper Malone, Belfast
Capacity1,500
ChairmanKen Green
ManagerDaniel Carlisle
LeagueMid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A
2023–24NIFL Premier Intermediate League, 14th of 14 (relegated)

PSNI Football Club is an intermediate Northern Irish football club that plays in the Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A division. The club is associated with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and its home ground is Newforge Lane in Belfast.[1]

History

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PSNI FC was founded in 1928 as RUC, derived from Royal Ulster Constabulary. Due to the connection with the police, prior to 2002, a number of teams with republican support would refuse to play matches against RUC.[2] The club changed its name in 2002, following the police service's name change to the PSNI.[3]

The club joined the Northern Amateur Football League in 1956 and became one of its leading clubs before being elevated to the Irish League B Division in 1975.[3] The club stayed at this level until failing to gain a place in the reorganised and re-branded IFA Championship in 2008. They were relegated in 2020 on a points-per-game basis, due to the season being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.[4]

In April 2023, the club finished bottom of the NIFL Premier Intermediate League and was due to drop into amateur league football for the first time since 1973. However the club retained their league status in a new, 14-team PIL, due to issues with finding an appropriate league, and the issues with Warrenpoint Town.[5] The move encored a great deal of criticism due to the move lacking sporting integrity, effectively meaning the club could not be relegated.[6]

The club would finish bottom of the NIFL Premier Intermediate League and be successfully relegated this time, dropping out of senior football for the first time since 1973. They were placed in the Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A division. Due to their relegation, a proposed £30,000 grant offer from the Northern Irish Sports ministry was withdrawn as the funding was only eligible for IFA senior league clubs.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "PSNI". NI Football League. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Football team pulls out of cup after drawing RUC". 7 September 2001. Retrieved 22 April 2025 – via Belfast Telegraph.
  3. ^ a b c "Ineligible PSNI FC see £30k funding retracted and given to another club after Department error". 9 October 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2025 – via Belfast Telegraph.
  4. ^ Fullerton, Gareth (17 August 2021). "PSNI boss Taggart sets out stall ahead of PIL opener". Belfast Live. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  5. ^ "NIFL include Warrenpoint Town and PSNI in expanded third-tier". 26 May 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2025 – via Belfast Telegraph.
  6. ^ "Unwanted PSNI could be left without a league to play in if forced to leave NIFL". Belfast Telegraph Sport. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
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