The Northern Ireland Football League Charity Shield is the national association footballsuper cup in Northern Ireland. It has been held on an occasional basis since its inauguration in 1992. It pits together the previous campaign's NIFL Premiership champions and Irish Cup winners, providing the opening match of the Irish League season.
Dungannon Swifts are the current holders, after they defeated Linfield 5–3 on penalties in the 2025 edition to win the competition for the first time.
Sponsorship
McEwan's Lager sponsored the competition between 1992 and 1994, and Wilkinson Sword were sponsors from 1998 until 2000, both of whom also sponsored other competitions in Irish League football. The proceeds from the 2014 and 2015 editions were donated to the Northern Ireland Hospice.
Format
The Shield is held in early August as a single match. In the 1992 and 1993 editions, the trophy was shared between the two competing sides for six months when both matches finished level at full-time. However, the rules were later changed to ensure an outright winner. In the 2014 edition, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner when the match ended level after 90 minutes, without extra time being played.
