The Northern Ireland national under-23 team is a football (soccer) team representing Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 featuring footballers playing in the Irish League

IFA Premiership

The IFA Premiership – formerly the Irish Premier League, and before that the Irish Football League–and still known in popular parlance simply as the Irish League, is the national football league in Northern Ireland, and was historically the league for the whole of Ireland. Clubs in the league are...

. The team first played at this level in 2007 when entering the International Challenge Trophy for national semi-professional Under-23 sides, though previously the Northern Ireland Under-23 team offered a recognised stepping stone for all young players hoping to progress to the full Northern Ireland side.

The Original Under-23s

The original Northern Ireland Under-23 side played a total of ten matches, all but three in the 1960s. Players to have stepped-up from the Under-23 side to full international level include Pat Jennings

Pat Jennings

Patrick Anthony "Pat" Jennings OBE is a Northern Ireland former football player. He played 119 games for Northern Ireland as a goalkeeper, a figure which at the time was a world record and is still a Northern Ireland record, in an international career which lasted for over 22 years...

, Bryan Hamilton

Bryan Hamilton

Bryan Hamilton is a Northern Irish former professional football player and manager. He gained 50 caps for Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1980, and later managed the national team for four years. He is currently Technical Director at Antigua Barracuda F.C.-Playing career:Born in Belfast,...

, Neil Lennon

Neil Lennon

Neil Francis Lennon is a former footballer from Northern Ireland. He is the current manager and former captain of Celtic....

 and Sammy Clingan

Sammy Clingan

Samuel "Sammy" Clingan is a Northern Irish international footballer who is currently the club captain of Coventry City.-Early career:Clingan began his career in August 2001 as a youth trainee at Wolverhampton Wanderers...

.

Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
07-02-1962	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Windsor Park Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:... , Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...	Drew 0–0
27-02-1963	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Vetch Field Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a multi-purpose stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the Liberty Stadium opened in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at the time of its closure, but upwards of 30,000 at its peak... , Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...	Lost 1–5	Jimmy McLaughlin
05-02-1964	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Windsor Park Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:... , Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...	Drew 3–3	Willie Irvine Willie Irvine William John "Willie" Irvine is a former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Eden, County Antrim, into a large family, he grew up in the nearby town of Carrickfergus. He did well at school, but chose to pursue a career in professional football and initially played for...  (2), Jimmy McLaughlin
10-02-1965	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Ninian Park Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship... , Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...	Drew 2–2	Willie Irvine Willie Irvine William John "Willie" Irvine is a former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Eden, County Antrim, into a large family, he grew up in the nearby town of Carrickfergus. He did well at school, but chose to pursue a career in professional football and initially played for... , Dave Clements Dave Clements Dave Clements in Larne in County Antrim, was a football player and manager from Northern Ireland. He started his career as a left winger but also played as a defensive midfielder and left full back throughout a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976 in which time he played for Coventry City,...
22-02-1967	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Windsor Park Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the home ground of Linfield F.C. and the Northern Ireland national football team. It is also where the Irish Cup and Irish League Cup finals are played.-History:... , Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...	Won 2–1	Vic McKinney (2)
20-03-1968	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Vetch Field Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a multi-purpose stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the Liberty Stadium opened in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 at the time of its closure, but upwards of 30,000 at its peak... , Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...	Won 1–0	Shaun Dunlop
26-03-1969	Italy Italy national under-21 football team The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...	Communale Stadium, Brescia Brescia Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...	Lost 1–2	Brendan Mullan
11-04-1989	Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland national football team The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....	Dalymount Park Dalymount Park Dalymount Park is an Irish football stadium situated on Dublin's Northside. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as 'Dalyer' by fans, it was also historically the "home of Irish football" holding Irish internationals and FAI Cup... , Dublin	Lost 0–3
15-05-1990	Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland national football team The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....	Shamrock Park Shamrock Park Shamrock Park is a football stadium in Portadown, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Portadown F.C.. Shamrock Park used to be used for stock-car racing, but this has been discontinued in recent years... , Portadown Portadown Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...	Lost 2–3	Stephen McBride Stephen McBride Stephen Derek McBride is a former Northern Irish footballer.-Managerial career:In August 2008, he succeeded Terry Cochrane as manager of his local and former team, Glenavon. However, with Glenavon languishing at the bottom of the IFA Premiership, McBride and Director of Football at the club, Alan... , John Devine
27-04-2004	Serbia & Montenegro Serbia national under-21 football team The Serbia national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia....	Mourneview Park Mourneview Park Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, and is the home ground of Glenavon F.C.. The stadium holds 5,000 and was built in 1895. The 2009 CIS Cup final was held there: the first such final to be held outside Belfast.-External links:**... , Lurgan Lurgan Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...	Drew 0–0	(billed an Under 21–23 team)

The New Under-23s

The Irish FA announced on 2 October 2007 that they would be entering a side in the International Challenge Trophy (previously the European Challenge Trophy). The team was to be selected from players playing in the Irish League

IFA Premiership

The IFA Premiership – formerly the Irish Premier League, and before that the Irish Football League–and still known in popular parlance simply as the Irish League, is the national football league in Northern Ireland, and was historically the league for the whole of Ireland. Clubs in the league are...

.

Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
11-12-2007	Belgium	Tournai Tournai Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....	Lost 1–2	Peter Thompson Peter Thompson (Northern Irish footballer) Peter Thompson is a footballer from Northern Ireland currently playing as a striker for IFA Premiership champions Linfield...
13-05-2008	Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland national football team The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....	Mourneview Park Mourneview Park Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, and is the home ground of Glenavon F.C.. The stadium holds 5,000 and was built in 1895. The 2009 CIS Cup final was held there: the first such final to be held outside Belfast.-External links:**... , Lurgan Lurgan Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...	Lost 0–1
18-11-2008	Slovakia Slovakia national football team The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...	Senec Senec, Slovakia Senec is a town in the Bratislava Region of south-western Slovakia. It is a well known summer tourism and recreation center. The town is attractive not only because of the proximity of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, but also because of the healthy environment and summer resort "Slnečné...	Lost 0–1
24-11-2009	Wales Wales national football team The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...	Shamrock Park Shamrock Park Shamrock Park is a football stadium in Portadown, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Portadown F.C.. Shamrock Park used to be used for stock-car racing, but this has been discontinued in recent years... , Portadown Portadown Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...	Drew 2–2	Jay Magee, Daryl Fordyce Daryl Fordyce Daryl Fordyce is a Northern Irish professional football player. He currently plays for Linfield.-Club football:...
11-08-2010	Poland Poland national under-23 football team The Poland national under-23 football team or Poland Olympic football team is the national under-23 football team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Football Association.- Olympic Record :...	The Showgrounds The Showgrounds (Coleraine) The Showgrounds is a football stadium in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Coleraine F.C.. The stadium holds 13,132, but is currently restricted to 2,496 under safety legislation.Between September 1971 and October 1972, Derry City F.C... , Coleraine Coleraine Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...	Won 2–0	Jordan Owens, Martin Donnelly Martin Donnelly (footballer born 1988) Martin Donnelly is a Northern Ireland international footballer born in Belfast who plays as a winger for Irish League side Cliftonville....
13-10-2010	Portugal

External links

• Irish FA Website