2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Championship details
Teams	33
All-Ireland Champions
Provincial Champions
Championship statistics
← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) will be the 140th edition of the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. Thirty-one of the thirty-two Irish counties are anticipated to take part. Kilkenny do not normally compete, while London and New York are expected to complete the lineup by entering the Connacht SFC.

The defending champions are Kerry, having won the 2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship by defeating Donegal on 27 July 2025. ^[1]

Format

At the GAA's Annual Congress in Donegal in 2025, delegates approved a motion to revise the structure of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship from 2026 onwards. ^[2]

Under Motion 19, the championship will feature 16 teams:

• The four provincial champions
• The four beaten provincial finalists
• The 2025 Tailteann Cup winner (Kildare)
• The seven next-ranked teams, based on final position in the 2026 National Football League
  • Position is based on standing after promotion and relegation are applied, and after finals are played; therefore, the top two teams in Division 2 outrank the bottom two teams in Division 1, and if the 2nd placed team in Division 2 wins the final, they were ranked above the 1st-place finisher who lost the final.
  • If Kildare reach the Leinster final, an 8th team is chosen based on league position.

The round-robin stage will be scrapped under the new format. ^[3]

The eight winners from Round One will move into Round 2A, while the eight losers will enter Round 2B. The winners of the four Round 2A ties will advance directly to the quarter-finals. The four Round 2A losers will meet the four Round 2B winners in Round 3, serving as preliminary quarter-finals to decide the remaining quarter-finalists.

All Preliminary round, quarter-finals and semi-final in the Provincial & All-Ireland championships will be played at separate weekends not like other recent years.

Draw for the season not expected until sometime in October or November 2025.

Resumption of overseas fixtures

It will be long-awaited fixtures. In the quarter-final stage of the Connacht championship both London and New York will play the same fixtures as 2016, with Mayo will be going to England to face London at Ruislip while Roscommon will be in the USA to play New York at Gaelic Park. Due to Covid-19 in 2021, these fixtures were cancelled.

On 9 September 2025 a Connacht council meeting was held that those fixtures are now confirmed. Flights from Knock Airport to and from all 4 London Airports and to New York as well are expected.

Teams

Thirty-three counties competed in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: seven teams in the Connacht Senior Football Championship, eleven teams in the Leinster Senior Football Championship, six teams in the Munster Senior Football Championship and nine teams in the Ulster Senior Football Championship.

County	Last Provincial title	Last Championship title	Position in 2025 Championship	Current Championship
Antrim	1951	—	Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-finals (25th–28th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Armagh	2008	2024	Quarter-finals (5th–8th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Carlow	1944	—	Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-finals (25th–28th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Cavan	2020	1952	Preliminary quarter-finals (9th–12th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Clare	1992	—	All-Ireland group stage (13th–16th)	Munster Senior Football Championship
Cork	2012	2010	Preliminary quarter-finals (9th–12th)	Munster Senior Football Championship
Derry	2023	1993	All-Ireland group stage (13th–16th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Donegal	2025	2012	Finalists (2nd)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Down	1994	1994	Preliminary quarter-finals (9th–12th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Dublin	2024	2023	Quarter-finals (5th–8th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Fermanagh	—	—	Tailteann Cup semi-finals (19th–20th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Galway	2025	2001	Quarter-finals (5th–8th)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Kerry	2025	2025	All-Ireland champions (1st)	Munster Senior Football Championship
Kildare	2000	1928	Tailteann Cup winners (17th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Laois	2003	—	Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-finals (25th–28th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Leitrim	1994	—	Tailteann Cup group stage (29th–33rd)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Limerick	1896	1896	Tailteann Cup finalists (18th)	Munster Senior Football Championship
London	—	—	Tailteann Cup group stage (29th–33rd)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Longford	1968	—	Tailteann Cup group stage (29th–33rd)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Louth	2025	1957	Preliminary quarter-finals (9th–12th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Mayo	2021	1951	All-Ireland group stage (13th–16th)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Meath	2010	1999	Semi-finals (3rd–4th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Monaghan	2015	—	Quarter-finals (5th–8th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
New York	—	—	Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-finals (25th–28th)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Offaly	1997	1982	Tailteann Cup quarter-finals (21st–24th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Roscommon	2019	1944	All-Ireland group stage (13th–16th)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Sligo	2007	—	Tailteann Cup quarter-finals (21st–24th)	Connacht Senior Football Championship
Tipperary	2020	1920	Tailteann Cup group stage (29th–33rd)	Munster Senior Football Championship
Tyrone	2021	2021	Semi-finals (3rd–4th)	Ulster Senior Football Championship
Waterford	1898	—	Tailteann Cup group stage (29th–33rd)	Munster Senior Football Championship
Westmeath	2004	—	Tailteann Cup quarter-finals (21st–24th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Wexford	1945	1918	Tailteann Cup quarter-finals (21st–24th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship
Wicklow	—	—	Tailteann Cup semi-finals (19th–20th)	Leinster Senior Football Championship

Provincial championships

Connacht Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2026 Connacht Senior Football Championship

Quarter-finals

Predetermined matches

Long-awaited: Rotation fixtures not held in 2021 due to Covid-19 they both had last took place in 2016.

Mayo v London

2026Quarter-final	Mayo	v	London	Ruislip
				Venue: McGovern Park

Roscommon v New York

2026Quarter-final	Roscommon	v	New York	New York
				Venue: Gaelic Park

Main draw

Team C fixture between Galway, Sligo and Leitrim in a open draw 1st 2 teams in the draw will be meet in Quarter-fianl fixture which the last team out will a bye to the semi-final stage known as Team D.

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2026Quarter-final		v		If Galway vs Leitrim: in Carrick-on-Shannon; if Galway vs Sligo: in Galway; if Sligo vs Leitrim: in Sligo

Semi-finals

Teams A and B will be winners of the Mayo/London & Roscommon/New York fixtures possibly Mayo & Roscommon. Team C the draw of the Quarter-final between 2 teams of Galway/Sligo and Leitrim. Team D the bye team of 1 team between Galway, Sligo and Leitrim.

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Final

Main article: 2026 Connacht Senior Football Championship final

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2026Final		v

Leinster Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2026 Leinster Senior Football Championship

Dublin, Meath, Louth and Kildare are byes to quarter-finals and can't be drawn together. The other seven teams go into an open draw.

Preliminary round

Six Teams of Carlow, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford & Wicklow. The last team out goes straight to Quarter-finals.

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Quarter-finals

Dublin v

2026Quarter-final	Dublin	v

Meath v

2026Quarter-final	Meath	v

Kildare v

2026Quarter-final	Kildare	v

Louth v

2026Quarter-final	Louth	v

Semi-finals

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Final

Main article: 2026 Leinster Senior Football Championship final

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2026Final		v		Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Munster Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2026 Munster Senior Football Championship

Kerry and Clare get byes to semi-final but an open draw. Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford in the Quarter-final draw.

Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Final

Main article: 2026 Munster Senior Football Championship final

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Ulster Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2026 Ulster Senior Football Championship

1st 2 teams out of the draw in the Preliminary round. Teams 3 to 7 will go straight to the Quarter-finals.

Preliminary round

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Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Final

Main article: 2026 Ulster Football Championship final

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All Ireland series

Teams qualified

• Kildare

Qualifiers

Round 1

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Round 1

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Round 1

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Round 1

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Round 1

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Round 2

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Round 2

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Round 2

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Round 2

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Round 2

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Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

There will be no draw, reverting to the rotation between Connacht and Munster champions as Ulster and Leinster champions too.

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2026Semi-final		v		Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

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2026Semi-final		v		Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Final

Main article: 2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

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26 July 2026Final		v		Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Stadia and locations

County	Location	Province	Stadium	Capacity
Antrim	Belfast	Ulster	Corrigan Park	3,700
Armagh	Armagh	Ulster	Athletic Grounds	18,500
Carlow	Carlow	Leinster	Dr Cullen Park	21,000
Cavan	Cavan	Ulster	Breffni Park	25,030
Clare	Ennis	Munster	Cusack Park	19,000
Cork	Cork	Munster	Páirc Uí Chaoimh	45,000
Derry	Derry	Ulster	Celtic Park	18,500
Donegal	Ballybofey	Ulster	MacCumhaill Park	18,000
Down	Newry	Ulster	Páirc Esler	20,000
Dublin	Dublin	Leinster	Croke Park	82,300
Fermanagh	Enniskillen	Ulster	Brewster Park	20,000
Galway	Galway	Connacht	Pearse Stadium	26,197
Kerry	Killarney	Munster	Fitzgerald Stadium	38,000
Kildare	Newbridge	Leinster	St Conleth's Park	15,000
Laois	Portlaoise	Leinster	O'Moore Park	22,000
Leitrim	Carrick-on-Shannon	Connacht	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada	9,331
Limerick	Limerick	Munster	Gaelic Grounds	44,023
London	South Ruislip	Britain	McGovern Park	3,000
Longford	Longford	Leinster	Pearse Park	10,000
Louth	Drogheda	Leinster	Drogheda Park	3,500
Mayo	Castlebar	Connacht	MacHale Park	25,369
Meath	Navan	Leinster	Páirc Tailteann	11,000
Monaghan	Clones	Ulster	St Tiernach's Park	29,000
New York	Bronx	North America	Gaelic Park	2,000
Offaly	Tullamore	Leinster	O'Connor Park	18,000
Roscommon	Roscommon	Connacht	Dr Hyde Park	18,890
Sligo	Sligo	Connacht	Markievicz Park	18,558
Tipperary	Thurles	Munster	Semple Stadium	45,690
Tyrone	Omagh	Ulster	Healy Park	17,636
Waterford	Waterford	Munster	Fraher Field	15,000
Westmeath	Mullingar	Leinster	Cusack Park	11,000
Wexford	Wexford	Leinster	Chadwicks Wexford Park	18,000
Wicklow	Aughrim	Leinster	Aughrim County Ground	7,000

Statistics

Top scorers

Overall

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average

In a single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition

Miscellaneous

• Due to Covid-19 in 2021 its has taken an extra 5 years for Mayo vs London & Roscommon vs New York meetings to feature on the Connacht championship draws for the first time since 2016.

References

1. "Kerry dash Donegal's dream in All-Ireland final". 27 July 2025.
2. "New All-Ireland SFC structure to be implemented in 2026". GAA. 22 February 2025.
3. "Group phase abolished as new football championship format approved for 2026". RTÉ. 22 February 2025.

External links

• GAA official website