The County Antrim & District Football Association (also known as the North East Ulster Football Association but more commonly as the Co. Antrim FA) is the largest of the four regional football associations within Northern Ireland and affiliated to the Irish FA, the others being the Mid-Ulster FA, the North-West of Ireland FA and the Fermanagh & Western FA.
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The Co. Antrim FA held its inaugural meeting on 23 April 1888 at the Commercial Hotel, Donegall Street, Belfast. The founding seven member clubs were Belfast Athletics, Cliftonville, Clarence, Distillery, YMCA, Oldpark and Whiteabbey. These clubs were joined shortly thereafter by Ballyclare, Linfield Athletics, Mountcollyer and Beechmount. In the intervening years the membership has grown from these eleven clubs to in excess of 500.[1]
Aided by a grant from the Irish FA, the Co. Antrim FA set about organising a competition for its members, the County Antrim Senior Challenge Shield, for which the first round draw was made in November 1888. Also organised were a fund raising match, held between Cliftonville and "The Rest", and a first representative fixture, lost 6-2 to a touring side from Canada. In the first few years of its existence Co. Antrim FA XIs also faced teams representing Co. Londonderry, Mid-Ulster and the Irish FA.[2]
Continued expansion of football in the region permitted the Co. Antrim FA to found further competitions, the Steel & Sons Cup in 1895 and the County Antrim Junior Shield in 1900.[3] Regular representative fixtures continued until the 1950s when financial losses incurred on trips to face the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA proved too much for the Association to bear.[4]
In 1988, to celebrate the Co. Antrim FA's centenary a special competition was organised - The County Antrim FA Centenary Chalice. The specially produced crystal trophy was won by Glentoran who defeated Ballymena United 4-2 in the final at Windsor Park, Belfast.[5] That same season a County Antrim Select lost 6-2 to a Combined Mid-Ulster/North-West Select in a commemorative match at Windsor Park.[6]
The Co. Antrim FA now has over 500 member clubs, spread beyond the traditional boundaries of Co. Antrim (for instance, Glentoran, Dundela FC, Bangor and Ards are members despite being based in Co. Down). Membership comes from all levels of football within Northern Ireland, from the senior, intermediate, junior and youth leagues and includes the reserve teams of many IFA Premiership clubs.
Selected representative matches played by Co. Antrim FA Selects.
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Sept 1888 | Shaftesbury Grounds, Ormeau Road, Belfast | Canada | 2-6 | Canadian side selected by the Western FA |
| 14 Oct 1953 | Solitude, Belfast | South Africa | 1-0 | |
| 10 May 1988 | Windsor Park, Belfast | Mid-Ulster/North-West Select | 2-6 | Co. Antrim FA Centenary game[7] |