Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs
The Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs was formed in early 1998.
Back then, there were fourteen individual clubs and while many of these had been in existence for more than a decade at that stage, they felt that forming themselves into a network would give Northern Ireland fans greater strength when working on issues they felt most strongly about.
Often feeling that the views of fans were largely overlooked by the decision makers at Windsor Avenue, the Amalgamation began to lobby on a variety of issues, including ticketing and has continued to do so in the years since.
Whilst much of the work done by the AONISC in the early years was ‘under the radar’, the very public debate surrounding the National Stadium provided the organisation with a much higher public profile.
One of our proudest achievements was in working with the Irish FA’s Community Relations Department to improve the atmosphere at international matches at Windsor Park. The improved atmosphere contributed to many memorable nights and this was recognised with the conferring of the ‘Brussels International Supporters’ Award’ upon Northern Ireland fans.
Having peaked at around eighty individual Clubs during a highly successful period for the Northern Ireland team, membership currently sits at more than sixty Clubs.
Whilst we would never claim to speak for all fans, we’ve always worked for the benefit of all Northern Ireland supporters and will continue to do.