Premiership

TIG’s takeover has been a far from a smooth journey and has taken over two years with their first attempt halted when club members stopped talks before the group took their offer off the table in January.

However, in June, the members authorised for the club’s management committee to enter formal negotiations with TIG and Monday’s eventual vote passed with 81% in favour.

“If you stand back and look at this, Cliftonville is a club that is held dearly by so many people,” he added.

“It was owned and controlled by the membership, so obviously, members are going to be reluctant to let it go effectively, especially to a private company. I understand all of the complexities around that.

“If you want to be open and honest about it, it just goes to show how much this club means to people. I just hope when it is complete, we can move together stronger as a team.”

Devine added that the Canadian consortium will be investing long-term and that it is a “passion project” for the group.

“This is a long-term play, this is not a five, six or a seven-year thing,” said Devine.

“One of the first things the guys said to me when we looked at this was that they are 25-year people, they are long-term. That is very unusual.

“These guys have spoken about ROIs [return on investment] or return in money; this is a passion project and an impact investment into the local area.”

OK, Wouter Vrancken.

You take over at a club who were denied a historic league title in the final 10 minutes of last season. They then lose their captain and talismanic striker, plus their best midfielder, and have a huge turnover of players.

Your first competitive action is a Champions League qualifier against seasoned European campaigners Sturm Graz, losing 6-0 on aggregate, before conceding twice after the 90th minute up at Aberdeen to lose your first league match.

So, what’s next? Benfica in Europa League qualifying. A doddle.

The Portuguese giants await on Thursday (20:00 BST) amid a savage introduction for Hearts’ new Belgian head coach. Chances of progression feel slim.

There have been aspects of each of the three matches under Vrancken that have been encouraging, and a win at Pittodrie on Saturday would have been a huge morale boost.

However, the nature of the team’s late collapse has intensified fear among the support that their season could unravel before it has even properly started.

A trip to Lisbon to face Marco Silva’s Benfica presents a glamour tie but also the prospect of another chastening defeat on the continent as Vrancken tries to piece together his best XI.

The 38-time Portuguese champions beat Napoli and Real Madrid at home in the Champions League last term on their way to the knockout stage, where they were put out by Real, who have since taken head coach Jose Mourinho.

Benfica’s domestic action is yet to return after they finished third in the league last season, but they defeated Swiss side St Gallen over two legs to reach this stage of Europa League qualifying.

A 2-1 defeat in Switzerland was wiped out with a thumping 5-0 win in the second leg last Thursday, with four of the five goals coming from Greece striker Vangelis Pavlidis.

The PIL had been the third tier of NIFL since 2016 and is now set to be replaced by the Conference League, which will be run by NAFL.

As a result, NIFL will only control the top two leagues of Northern Irish football and has now expanded the Championship from 12 to 16 teams.

The top four teams from last season’s PIL – Moy­ola Park, Stra­bane Ath­letic, Rath­fri­land and Newry City – were promoted to the Championship.

But the 10 teams who finished between fifth and bottom of last year’s PIL- Dollingstown, Ballymacash Rangers, Portstewart, Oxford Sunnyside, Dergview, Ballyclare Comrades, Knockbreda, Coagh United, Lisburn Distillery and Banbridge Town – are all set to feature in the inaugural Conference league.

Ballymena & Provincial League champions St. James’ Swifts and Rosario, who came fifth in NAFL’s Premier Division last season, are also due to complete the new 12-team league.

But Banbridge, who finished bottom of the PIL, believed the decision to remove the side from the NIFL structures was “unlawful” and appealed to the Irish Football Association [IFA].

Banbridge argued that NIFL had not followed its own regulations by not previously securing approval from member clubs at an annual general meeting [AGM] or EGM to bring its annual regulations into operation, and their appeal was upheld by the IFA’s appeals committee.

After winning their third league title in four years, Larne kick-start their European campaign with a trip to San Marino to face Tre Fiori in the first round of the Champions League qualifying matches on 7 July, before the home game the following week.

The San Marino Champions, who won the Campionato Sammarinese by one point last campaign, have had a busy off season with 11 players leaving the club and eight new signings.

Larne will take confidence that, in 2020, Linfield faced Tre Fiori with the Blues progressing to the next round of Champions League qualifiers with a 2-0 win in Nyon.

The Inver Reds have now competed in Europe for the last six years and, two seasons ago, made history by beating Lincoln Red Imps to qualify into the Conference League.

“The players want to get back there and experience it again, as the six individual games are a fantastic experience,” Gary Haveron said.

“When you are in the knockout stages, the next game could be your last one and there is a lot at stake but, once you make group stages, you could plan your schedule around the individual games. Every single one of the games was a huge event and a big moment in the club’s history.

“Every time you step foot on the pitch in Europe, you are trying to create history for the club and the country and I think Larne have done that really well.”

If they lose this tie, Larne’s European adventure will not be over as they will drop into the third round of the Uefa Conference League.

June 19 (UPI) — Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham scored a convincing victory for the ruling Labour Party in a by-election for the parliamentary seat of Makerfield on Friday, winning more seats than all the other parties combined.

The two-time former nominee for the leadership of the party saw off Reform UK in Thursday’s poll with 24,927 votes — 55% of the vote — against Reform’s 15,696, with the official opposition Conservative’s candidate pushed into a distant fourth place with only 997 votes.

Burnham’s return to parliament to mount an anticipated bid to oust Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Burnham’s supporters saying the scale of his win confirmed he was the best person to lead the party — and by extension — the country.

In his victory speech in the early hours in the constituency, 20 miles west of Manchester and on the outskirts of Wigan, Burnham said the win could be a “turning point” for Britain.

“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working. Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point. From here on, I will give everything I have got to make it so. To ensure that the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs,” said Burnham.

Starmer congratulated Burnham, saying voters had chosen the party’s vision of “hope and optimism over division and hate” but vowed he would not “walk away” from the leadership.

He stressed that there was no contest for the leadership of the party currently and that he didn’t think it was a good idea because it would “plunge the country into chaos — but said that if Burnham initiated a challenge after he returns to Parliament next week, he would fight.

“If there is a contest, then yes. I will run. I will stand. I’m not going to walk away from that.”

Any challenger needs the backing of a quarter of MPs — around 81 — but the incumbent gets a bye and is automatically entered into the contest, should they wish to participate.

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who quit the cabinet on May 14 — the same day the sitting Makerfield MP stood down to make way for Burnham — is also tipped to enter the race.

Other candidates such as former Defense Secretary Jon Healey could also emerge in the interim.

It is understood Burnham will not move against Starmer immediately and his preference, along with others in the party who no longer back Starmer, is that given some breathing space he will stand aside without a fight.

Starmer’s problems began in summer 2025, less than a year into his government’s five-year term following a landslide election victory, after a poor showing in local elections and losing a by-election in the “safe” Labour seat of Runcorn and Helsby.

Rebellions by his own MPs forcing policy U-turns, the Peter Mandelson debacle, and more losses at the ballot box, culminating in a cataclysmic defeat to Reform UK in “mid-term” local elections in May, saw growing numbers of MPs call for him to quit and defections from his cabinet.

First elected as an MP representing the Greater Manchester seat of Leigh in 2001, Burnham unsuccessfully fought two contests for the Labour leadership when the party was in opposition, losing to Ed Miliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, before quitting the House of Commons in 2017.

He currently has two years still to run of his four-year term as mayor of Greater Manchester. His resignation to take up his seat in Parliament triggers a mayoral election in Britain’s second largest metro area after London scheduled for July 30.