Original Umbro football shirt Northern Ireland 2008/10

The Northern Irish Football Team is a team of football players representing Northern Ireland in international competitions, such as the preliminary rounds for the World Cup and the European Championship.

Originally the team represented the entire Irish island under the name "Ireland". After the independence of the Irish Free State (the current Republic of Ireland), the latter got its own football association with its own national football team. Northern Ireland continued to play under the name "Ireland" until 1950 (in the British Home Championship even until the mid-1970s) and players from all over Ireland were selected.

The best performance at a World Cup was reaching the quarter final in 1958, in which France lost 4-0. In the seventies and eighties of the 20th century the country was still a formidable opponent. In 1982 and 1986 it qualified for the World Cup final round. Northern Ireland qualified for an EC for the first time on 8 October 2015.