Full name | Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Reds | ||
Founded | September 1879 | ||
Ground | Solitude | ||
Capacity | 6000[1] | ||
Manager | Jim Magilton | ||
League | NIFL Premiership | ||
2023–24 | NIFL Premiership, 3rd of 12 | ||
Website | https://cliftonvillefc.net/ | ||
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Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a semi-professional[2] association football club playing in the NIFL Premiership – the top division of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club was founded in September 1879 by John McAlery in the suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast and are the founders of football in Ireland.
It is the oldest football club in Ireland and celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2019. Since 1890, the club has played home matches at Solitude. Cliftonville contests the North Belfast derby with nearby rivals Crusaders, and also has local rivalries with Linfield and Glentoran.
The club has won the league title five times outright including one shared title, the Irish Cup nine times and the Northern Ireland Football League Cup six times.