| Competition: | NIFL Championship |
| Season: | 2016–17 |
| Winners: | Warrenpoint Town |
| Promoted: | Warrenpoint Town |
| Relegated: | Armagh City Annagh United |
| Matches: | 192 |
| Total Goals: | 665 |
| Prevseason: | 2015–16 |
| Nextseason: | 2017–18 |
The 2016–17 NIFL Championship was the first season of the second-tier Irish League since gaining senior status. The fixtures were announced on 7 July 2016.[1] The season began on 13 August 2016 and concluded on 29 April 2017.
On 1 April 2017, Warrenpoint Town came from 0–2 down to defeat Institute 3–2 to clinch the league title and an instant return to the NIFL Premiership for the 2017–18 season.[2]
The 2016–17 NIFL Championship consisted of 12 teams. Ards were champions of Championship 1 in the previous season and were promoted to the 2016–17 NIFL Premiership.[3] The next highest place team eligible for promotion, fifth-placed finishers Institute were defeated by Ballinamallard United in the Premiership play-off; therefore failing to achieve promotion.
The bottom two teams from the previous season, Lisburn Distillery and Donegal Celtic were relegated to the third-tier NIFL Premier Intermediate League; they were joined by Bangor after they failed to gain the Championship Licence, required for playing at second-tier level. They were replaced by PSNI, runners-up of the (now defunct) Championship 2 in the previous season; champions Limavady United were ineligible for promotion after failing to gain the required licence.
| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tandragee Road | 1,250 | |||
| 3,000 | ||||
| 5,333 | ||||
| Darragh Park | 1,200 | |||
| Tillysburn Park | 3,000 | |||
| 1,570 | ||||
| Breda Park | 1,000 | |||
| 3,000 | ||||
| 3,000 | ||||
| 1,000 | ||||
| 1,500 | ||||
| Milltown | 1,280 |
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home-and-away).
During matches 23–32 each team played every other team in their half of the table twice (home-and-away).
The second and third-placed teams from the Championship, Institute and Ballyclare Comrades respectively, took part in the Premiership play-off semi-final. The winners will then play Carrick Rangers in the play-off final; the winners of this tie will play in the top-flight next season.
The eleventh-placed team from the Championship, Armagh City, played the runners-up from the 2016–17 Premier Intermediate League, Newry City, over two legs for one spot in the 2017–18 NIFL Championship.----Newry City won 7–1 on aggregate and are promoted to the 2017–18 NIFL Championship; Armagh City are relegated to the 2017–18 NIFL Premier Intermediate League.