Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland national football team is governed by the Irish Football Association (IFA), one of the world's oldest football associations, founded in 1880. Northern Ireland's finest hour came at the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, where they reached the quarter-finals with a squad featuring the legendary George Best's era predecessors and a young Norman Whiteside. Whiteside became the youngest player to score at a World Cup at the 1986 tournament in Mexico. Northern Ireland also qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016, reaching the round of sixteen. The team plays its home matches at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast. In recent years, the IFA has invested in grassroots development to sustain competitive performances on the European stage.