Boxing Day lived up to its billing as the biggest day of the year both on and off the pitch in the NI Football League, with recording-breaking numbers.

Over 22,000 fans flocked to stadiums to witness the goals, drama and excitement of live football across Northern Ireland on Thursday afternoon in both the Sports Direct Premiership and Playr-Fit Championship.

The 18,835 fans in attendance at the six Sports Direct Premiership games set a new record not only for the traditional Boxing Day games but also for a single round of fixtures since official records began – with no less than three of the games being fully sold out in advance of Christmas.

NIFL Chief Executive Gerard Lawlor said, “We’re delighted to be breaking more attendance records, but we can only do this with the support of our fans who have backed their clubs not only on Boxing Day, but all year round!”

“The potential and appetite for live football at NIFL matches continues to be huge for our fans, and with the much-needed development of our stadiums high on our agenda for 2025, our ambitions must be to break this record again in the near future.”

In the build up to the festive fixtures the excitement amongst fans was tangible with over 3.5m video views on NIFL social media platforms and 4,500 new followers - marking the biggest growth in the league's digital history.