style="color: #000000;">The Northern Ireland soccer team is the representative team of that country in official competitions. Its organization is in charge of the Irish Football Association , belonging to UEFA . It is the successor to the extinct soccer team from the Island of Ireland , which governed from 1882 to 1950 .
style="color: #000000;">This team is one of the oldest in the world, having played its first match in 1882 . Initially, this team represented the entire island of Ireland under the name "Ireland", but in 1920 , the island was divided between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland , which remained British territory.
