Format All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

1 format

1.1 current super 8 round-robin format (2018–)
1.2 quarter-finals format (2001–17)
1.3 historic format (1888–2000)

format
current super 8 round-robin format (2018–)

significant changes format of championship made @ gaa s annual congress in february 2017. significant change creation of all-ireland super 8s, replaces quarter-final stage of championship. additionally all-ireland final moved august , replays held drawn provincial finals , drawn all-ireland finals, time played in other championship matches. changes trialled 3 years before being reviewed gaa in late 2020.

the county geographical region in ireland, , each of thirty-two counties in ireland organises own gaa affairs through county board. county teams play in respective provincial championships (reflective of 4 irish provinces) in connacht (which includes teams london , new york), leinster, munster, , ulster. kilkenny unique among 32 irish county associations in not participating in all-ireland senior football championship. provincial championships operate through knock-out cup competition format. take place during months of may , june. winners of each of 4 provincial championships earn place in all-ireland super 8s, take place in months of july , august.

each match played single leg. if match drawn time played. however, if both sides still level @ end of time replay takes place. in case of provincial final if matches end level replay takes place without time.

the twenty-nine teams fail win respective provincial championships receive second opportunity reach all-ireland series via ireland qualifiers (also known door ). qualifiers series takes place in months of june , july , operates follows:

fans of sligo (in black) visible in crowd among supporters of cork, meath , tyrone. introduction of all-ireland qualifiers in 2001 has provided weaker counties opportunities play big games @ croke park.



qualifiers

round 1: teams fail reach semi-finals of respective provincial championships (16 in total) compete in round one. open draw system used divide teams 8 individual match-ups. winning 8 teams progress round 2, while losing 8 teams eliminated ireland championship.
round 2: each of 8 winning teams of round 1 drawn against 8 losing teams semi-finals of 4 provincial championships. winning 8 teams progress round 3, while losing 8 teams eliminated ireland championship.
round 3: 8 winning teams round 2 divided 4 individual match-ups. open draw made determine 4 pairings. winning 4 teams progress round 4, while losing 4 teams eliminated ireland championship.
round 4: each of 4 winning teams of round 3 drawn against 4 losing teams finals of 4 provincial championships. winning 4 teams proceed all-ireland series, joining 4 provincial champions, while losing 4 teams eliminated ireland championship.


the all-ireland championship

all-ireland super 8s: 4 provincial champions , winning 4 teams round 4 of all-ireland qualifiers take part in group stage takes place in months of july , august. group stage organised on league basis 2 groups of 4 teams, each team playing other 3 teams once. each group consists of 2 provincial champions , 2 round 4 qualifier winners. each team plays 1 game in croke park, 1 home game , 1 away game. (in case of dublin, croke park treated home stadium play 2 games in croke park). top 2 teams in both groups qualify ireland semi finals.
all-ireland semi finals: winner of group 1 plays runner-up of group 2 , winner of group 2 plays runner-up of group 1 in 2 all-ireland semi finals played on course of 1 weekend.
all-ireland final: 2 remaining teams meet in all-ireland final, take place in august. winning team crowned all-ireland champions , presented sam maguire cup.



quarter-finals format (2001–17)

from 2001-17, championship played using quarter-finals format. under format provincial matches take place during months of may, june , july. winners of each of 4 provincial championships earn place in all-ireland quarter-finals, take place in month of august. replays played drawn matches, not drawn provincial finals , drawn all-ireland finals. extra-time used replays , qualifier matches. if teams still level after time, qualifier match go replay or in case of replays, replay take place.

the qualifiers series take place in months of june , july winning 4 teams of round 4 playing 4 provincial champions in all-ireland quarter finals.

all-ireland quarter finals: 4 provincial champions drawn against winning 4 teams round 4 of all-ireland qualifiers. if match finished both teams level, replay take place. 4 winning teams qualify all-ireland semi-finals.
all-ireland semi finals: all-ireland semi finals take place in august , contested 4 winners of all-ireland quarter finals. if match ended both teams level, replay take place. 2 winning teams qualify all-ireland final.
all-ireland final: 2 remaining teams meet in all-ireland final, on third sunday in september. winning team crowned all-ireland champions.



historic format (1888–2000)

for first all-ireland championship in 1887, competition played on open draw knockout basis. 1888, provincial system introduced, whereby counties in each of ireland s 4 provinces play each other on knockout basis find provincial champions. these 4 champions meet in all-ireland semi-finals. structure outlined above adopted in 2001 allow more games played, still retain provincial championships , knockout structure, resulting in every game continuing meaningful fixture, no dead-rubber league format matches being played out.