Find out more about how the League of Ireland is organised
The League of Ireland is the top tier of Irish football and dates back to the foundation of the Football Association of Ireland in 1921.
Originally established as just one division, the League of Ireland is made up of three senior competitions - the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division, the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division and the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division and the EA SPORTS League of Ireland Academy for MU14, MU15, MU17, WU17, MU19 and WU19 competitions.
The League of Ireland has been administered within the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) since 2006. As such, the League benefits from the wide range of departments that exist within the FAI, including Commercial, Communications, Club Licensing, Legal, Finance, and IT.
The League is run on an operational level by the FAI's League of Ireland Department.
The National League Committee (NLC) is the governing body of the League of Ireland and consists of an Independent Chairperson appointed by the FAI Board, an FAI Board Member and ten League of Ireland Club representatives.
The League of Ireland is governed by the Participation Agreement which the League Department, the NLC and the Clubs review and amend on an annual basis. Clubs are also required to obtain licences to participate in either the Men’s and Women’s Premier Divisions or Men’s First Divisions.
