Football returned in style as the 2024/2025 NI Football League season kicked off last weekend hitting big numbers and new highs across the board.
The weekend of football action was clearly one not to be missed, as the three days of action opened new opportunities for match-going fans - with a notable 7% increase on attendances in both the Sports Direct Premiership and Playr-Fit Championship from the opening weekend of last season.
Two top live broadcast games on the BBC iPlayer on both Friday evening (Glentoran v Crusaders) and Sunday afternoon (Cliftonville v Portadown) were met with widespread approval with +11% increase on TV audience from the same period last year.
Regan McFarland, NI Football League Sales and Marketing Manager said; “It’s been an amazing opening weekend in the NI Football League, our league continues to grow in audience and as that takes many new forms, we are rising to the challenge of making our league both exciting and accessible to all.”
“We know and appreciate how our dedicated our fans are, and they are backing us and their clubs from every corner – our sincere thanks go to everyone who made this a huge opening week, and we look forward to your support throughout the rest of what promises to be a season to remember!”
The fever pitch of fans eagerly awaiting the build-up the campaign was evident with a record-breaking week on the popular NIFL social media channels with over 883,000 video views in the build-up, the most ever on record for the league!
Away from the broadcast and digital space, there was also a staggering €850,000 of print media value (MAVE) last week, across almost 300 print media articles covering the build-up and reaction across all the leagues and clubs in NIFL.
It all returns tomorrow night (Friday) as the second gameweek of the season sees a huge live derby game between Coleraine and Ballymena United live on BBC iPlayer on Friday night and the reigning champions Larne kicking off their season away to Crusaders live on Sunday, with plenty of top action in between.
