2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
| All-Ireland Champions | |
|---|---|
| Provincial Champions | |
| Championship statistics | |
← 2024 2026 → |
The 2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship will be the 138th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament.
Armagh will be the defending champions having won the 2024 competition.[1] Down will enter the competition as Tailteann Cup winners.[2]
Format
[edit]A potential new format for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) is under consideration,[3] with a single alternative structure gaining significant support. The proposal is set to be discussed at a GAA Central Council meeting in September 2024. The format, inspired by systems previously used in 16-team county championships, emerged as the most favoured option during a recent consultation process involving GAA counties.
Key Features of the Proposed Format
[edit]The alternative format retains the provincial championships and introduces a new pathway for teams advancing to the All-Ireland series. After the completion of the provincial competitions, the eight provincial finalists would join the top seven National Football League teams and the Tailteann Cup winners in the first round of the Sam Maguire Cup. The outcome of this round would determine the placement of teams into two groups: winners and losers.
Quarter-Final Qualification
The winners of the provincial winners' group would secure direct qualification for the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The remaining quarter-final spots would be contested between the provincial losers’ group winners and the losers of the provincial winners' group.
Game Structure
The proposed format involves 27 games across six rounds, a reduction from the current 35 games over seven rounds. This streamlining is aimed at easing scheduling pressure and creating a clearer gap between the league and the provincial championships.
Minimum Games Guarantee
Counties would be assured at least three championship games, down from the four currently guaranteed. [4]
Provincial Championships
[edit]Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organise a provincial championship. All provincial matches are knock-out.
In the Connacht championship London and New York fixtures postponed in 2020 during Covid-19 are rescheduled meaning that it's Roscommon vs London which will be the 50th anniversary of London in the Connacht championship and Galway vs New York which will be the 100th anniversary of the first time that Galway first won the All Ireland title. Those fixtures are like in rotation at the Quarter-final stage of every 5 years. Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim will be in the open draw as usual.
The Munster championship will be a open draw with Kerry a bye team to the semi-finals.
The Ulster championship will feature an open draw, with the caveat that no team from the preliminary round in 2024 can be placed in that round in 2025.
Possible Leinster Championship format change
[edit]A change of system for is required for the Leinster championship will be dead if Dublin keep winning the title. [opinion] It's overdue new Leinster champions. Since 2011 Dublin have been Leinster champions far too long it never had happened before in every other decade Leinster championship was usually difficult. New system would see Dublin a bye to Leinster semi-finals but other teams in the province will be in the open draw a vote will take place before the draws take place in late October or early November 2024 if possible in September 2024. Kilkenny have been absent from the Leinster championship since 1982.
Irish Independent on Saturday September 7th 2024 has reported about it again in the Sunday World on the following day.
When the draws take place in late October or early November 2024 will be broadcast on TG4 instead of RTÉ for the first time in history.
References
[edit]- ^ "Armagh: All-Ireland winners to be welcomed home by fans". BBC News. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Down beat Laois in hard fought Tailteann Cup final". The Irish News. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/all-ireland-football-championship-format-looks-set-for-new-twist-with-single-alternative-format/a1538497162.html?
- ^ https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/all-ireland-football-championship-format-looks-set-for-new-twist-with-single-alternative-format/a1538497162.html?