The 2021–22 NIFL Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the NIFL Championship since gaining senior status. It is the second-tier of the Northern Ireland Football League - the national football league in Northern Ireland. The season began on 7 August 2021 and concluded on 30 April 2022.
The Championship returned after a one-year hiatus, following the cancellation of the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.
Portadown were the champions from the 2019–20 season. However, as they won promotion to the 2020–21 NIFL Premiership before the COVID-19 hiatus, they could not defend their title. Newry City were confirmed as champions on the final day of the 2021–22 season.
The bottom Championship team from the previous season, PSNI, were relegated to the third-tier NIFL Premier Intermediate League. They were replaced by Annagh United, winners of the Premier Intermediate League. The eleventh-placed Championship team from the previous season, Knockbreda, had a reprieve, as the NIFL Championship play-off was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland.
Source: NIFL Championship Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Matches 23–33
During matches 23–33 each team played every other team for the third time (either at home, or away).
Source: NIFL Championship Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Matches 34–38
For the final five matches the table split into two halves, with teams ranked 1st–6th in Section A and teams ranked 7th–12th in Section B. During matches 34–38 each team played every other team in their respective section once. The fixtures were reversed from those played during rounds 23–33, ensuring that teams had played every other team in their respective section twice at home and twice away overall throughout the season.
Source: NIFL Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
NIFL Championship play-off
The eleventh-placed club, Knockbreda, faced the second-placed club from the 2021–22 NIFL Premier Intermediate League, Bangor, for one place in the following season's Championship.