The British and Irish Quidditch League

The British and Irish Quidditch League, often referred to simply as the League, is the premier professional Quidditch competition in Great Britain and Ireland. Established in 1674, it features thirteen teams competing annually for the coveted League Cup. (Quidditch Through the Ages) The League serves as a major form of entertainment in the wizarding world and is a significant cultural institution, with teams commanding fierce loyalty from their supporters. Its operations are overseen by the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic.

The League was founded to provide a formal structure for the numerous Quidditch teams that had formed across Britain and Ireland. The thirteen founding teams agreed to abide by a set of rules established by the Department of Magical Games and Sports and to play each other once over the course of a season. (Quidditch Through the Ages) The winner of the League is determined by a points system. Teams are awarded points for winning matches, and the team with the most points at the conclusion of the season is crowned champion. This format mirrors the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup, although on a much larger and more professional scale. The League is a source of frequent discussion and betting, as seen with characters like Ludo Bagman, the former Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, who was known for placing bets on League games.

There are thirteen professional teams in the British and Irish Quidditch League. Many of these teams have long and storied histories, and their performance is followed closely by fans in publications like the Daily Prophet. The known teams are:

• Appleby Arrows: A northern English team known for their pale blue robes and the tradition of their fans shooting silver arrows into the air from their wands when their Chasers score. They have a historic rivalry with the Wimbourne Wasps.
• Ballycastle Bats: A famous Northern Irish team that has won the League Cup twenty-seven times, making them the second most successful team in the league's history. Their mascot is Barny the Fruitbat. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
• Caerphilly Catapults: A Welsh team with a record of eighteen league wins and a notable European Cup victory in 1956. Their robes are vertically striped in light green and scarlet. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
• Chudley Cannons: Ron Weasley's favourite team. Once a formidable force, having won the League twenty-one times, they have suffered a long decline in performance. Their robes are bright orange, and their emblem is a speeding cannonball. Their motto was famously changed from “We shall conquer” to “Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.”
• Falmouth Falcons: Known for their dark grey and white robes and a hard-playing, aggressive style, particularly from their famous Beaters, Karl and Kevin Broadmoor. Ludo Bagman's brother Otto had a disagreement with the Falcons.
• Holyhead Harpies: A very old Welsh team, founded in 1203, notable for being the only Quidditch team in the world to be composed solely of witches. Their robes are dark green with a golden talon on the chest. Gwenog Jones was their long-serving Captain, and Ginny Weasley went on to play Chaser for them after leaving Hogwarts.
• Kenmare Kestrels: An Irish team founded in 1291, known for their green robes featuring two yellow 'K's back-to-back on the chest. Their live leprechaun mascots are a popular feature of their games. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
• Montrose Magpies: The most successful team in the history of the League, with thirty-two League Cup wins. They wear black and white robes. A notable player was Eunice Murray, who once petitioned for a faster Golden Snitch. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
• Pride of Portree: A team from the Isle of Skye in Scotland, founded in 1292. They wear deep purple robes with a gold star on the chest. Their most famous Chaser was Catriona McCormack, whose daughter Meaghan McCormack later played Keeper for the team. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
• Puddlemere United: Founded in 1163, this is the oldest team in the League. Their robes are navy blue, emblazoned with two crossed golden bulrushes. After graduating from Hogwarts, Oliver Wood joined their reserve team as a Keeper.
• Tutshill Tornados: A team known for their sky-blue robes with a double 'T' in dark blue on the chest. They held the British and Irish League record for five consecutive wins. Cho Chang is a loyal supporter of the Tornados.
• Wigtown Wanderers: A Scottish border team founded in 1422, originally composed of the seven children of a wizard butcher named Walter Parkin. They wear blood-red robes with a silver meat cleaver on the chest. (Quidditch Through the Ages)
• Wimbourne Wasps: A team whose players wear horizontally striped yellow and black robes. They have won the League Cup eighteen times. Ludo Bagman was a celebrated Beater for the Wasps before his career at the Ministry of Magic.

While the Quidditch World Cup and the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup are more central to the plot of the series, the British and Irish Quidditch League provides crucial depth to the wizarding world. It demonstrates that Quidditch is not just a school sport but a professional career and a major cultural phenomenon. The League is primarily experienced through the eyes of its fans. Ron Weasley's passionate, and often despairing, support for the Chudley Cannons is a recurring character detail. His bedroom at The Burrow is decorated entirely in the team's garish orange colours. Similarly, Cho Chang's loyalty to the Tutshill Tornados is mentioned as a point of connection with Harry Potter. The League also represents a tangible career path for talented Hogwarts players. The news that Oliver Wood has been signed to Puddlemere United's reserve team is a moment of pride and excitement. In the epilogue, it is revealed that Ginny Weasley became a successful professional player for the Holyhead Harpies before retiring to become the senior Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet. The League's existence thus gives context and future to the skills honed on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.