2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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.

Format

2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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.

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 standings 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 are ranked above the 1st-place finisher who lost the final. • If Kildare reach the Leinster final, their automatic berth as Tailteann Cup winners will transfer to the 8th-best team in the rankings not yet qualified.

The round-robin stage will be scrapped under the new format, moving to a modified double-elimination tournament.

Provincial champions and runners-up shall be seeded in the draw for Round One of the knockout stage and given home-field advantage. The sixteen games will be played over two separate weekends; the Munster and Connacht finalists will play in the first weekend, while the Ulster and Leinster finalists' ties will highlight the second weekend.

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 fixtures in Rounds 2 and 3 will be determined via semi-open draw; the team picked first will play at home and a re-draw or fixture swap will occur if a selected tie is a rematch of a provincial final or Round 1 matchup.

The draw for the competition took place on 27 November 2025.

Teams

2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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

Quarter-finals

Mayo will travel to London and Roscommon to New York for the first time since 2016. Both sides were due to head abroad in 2021 as part of Connacht's five-year rotation schedule but those games were scratched due to the COVID-19 pandemic. First two teams drawn of the other three counties play a third quarter-final; remaining team receives bye to semi-final stage, which is an open draw.

Leinster Senior Football Championship

Dublin, Meath, Louth and Kildare, the previous year's semi-finalists, are seeded and given byes to the quarter-final. The other seven teams go into an open draw; the first six teams drawn play each other in the preliminary round, while the seventh team is given a bye to the quarter-final stage and placed in the same pot as the winners of the three preliminary matches.

Munster Senior Football Championship

Clare and Kerry, the 2025 Munster Senior Football Championship finalists, receive byes to the semi-final stage but are not seeded. All fixtures determined by open draw.

Ulster Senior Football Championship

Derry, Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan receive byes to quarter-final stage having played in the preliminary game in either 2024 or 2025. First two teams drawn of the remaining five counties play a preliminary game; remaining ties determined by open draw.

All Ireland series

Team allocation and draw

Seven or eight places in the All-Ireland qualifiers are allocated based on performance in the 2026 National Football League, as detailed below.

	Guaranteed a place in All-Ireland qualifiers
	Possible place in All-Ireland qualifiers based on NFL position or by reaching provincial final
	Eliminated from provincial championship, but could reach qualifiers based on NFL position
	Can only qualify for All-Ireland qualifiers by reaching provincial final
	Will compete in Tailteann Cup

Position	Team
NFL champions	Donegal
NFL finalists	Kerry
3rd Div 1	Mayo
4th Div 1	Roscommon
5th Div 1	Galway
6th Div 1	Armagh
Div 2 champions	Meath
Div 2 finalists	Cork
7th Div 1	Dublin
8th Div 1	Monaghan
3rd Div 2	Louth
4th Div 2	Derry
5th Div 2	Tyrone
6th Div 2	Cavan
Div 3 champions	Down
Div 3 finalists	Wexford
7th Div 2	Offaly
8th Div 2	Kildare
3rd Div 3	Westmeath
4th Div 3	Sligo
5th Div 3	Laois
6th Div 3	Clare
Div 4 champions	Carlow
Div 4 finalists	Longford
7th Div 3	Limerick
8th Div 3	Fermanagh
3rd Div 4	Wicklow
4th Div 4	Antrim
5th Div 4	Tipperary
6th Div 4	London
7th Div 4	Leitrim
8th Div 4	Waterford
Did not enter	New York

Semi-finals

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

Stadia and locations

2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

<table><thead><tr><th>County</th><th>Location</th><th>Province</th><th>Stadium</th><th>Capacity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Antrim</td><td>Belfast</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Corrigan Park</td><td>3,700</td></tr><tr><td>Armagh</td><td>Armagh</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Athletic Grounds</td><td>18,500</td></tr><tr><td>Carlow</td><td>Carlow</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Dr Cullen Park</td><td>21,000</td></tr><tr><td>Cavan</td><td>Cavan</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Breffni Park</td><td>25,030</td></tr><tr><td>Clare</td><td>Ennis</td><td>Munster</td><td>Cusack Park</td><td>19,000</td></tr><tr><td>Cork</td><td>Cork</td><td>Munster</td><td>Páirc Uí Chaoimh</td><td>45,000</td></tr><tr><td>Derry</td><td>Derry</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Celtic Park</td><td>18,500</td></tr><tr><td>Donegal</td><td>Ballybofey</td><td>Ulster</td><td>MacCumhaill Park</td><td>18,000</td></tr><tr><td>Down</td><td>Newry</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Páirc Esler</td><td>20,000</td></tr><tr><td>Dublin</td><td>Dublin</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Croke Park</td><td>82,300</td></tr><tr><td>Fermanagh</td><td>Enniskillen</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Brewster Park</td><td>20,000</td></tr><tr><td>Galway</td><td>Galway</td><td>Connacht</td><td>Pearse Stadium</td><td>26,197</td></tr><tr><td>Kerry</td><td>Killarney</td><td>Munster</td><td>Fitzgerald Stadium</td><td>38,000</td></tr><tr><td>Kildare</td><td>Newbridge</td><td>Leinster</td><td>St Conleth's Park</td><td>15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Laois</td><td>Portlaoise</td><td>Leinster</td><td>O'Moore Park</td><td>22,000</td></tr><tr><td>Leitrim</td><td>Carrick-on-Shannon</td><td>Connacht</td><td>Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada</td><td>9,331</td></tr><tr><td>Limerick</td><td>Limerick</td><td>Munster</td><td>Gaelic Grounds</td><td>44,023</td></tr><tr><td>London</td><td>South Ruislip</td><td>Britain</td><td>McGovern Park</td><td>3,000</td></tr><tr><td>Longford</td><td>Longford</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Pearse Park</td><td>10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Louth</td><td>Drogheda</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Drogheda Park</td><td>3,500</td></tr><tr><td>Mayo</td><td>Castlebar</td><td>Connacht</td><td>MacHale Park</td><td>28,000</td></tr><tr><td>Meath</td><td>Navan</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Páirc Tailteann</td><td>11,000</td></tr><tr><td>Monaghan</td><td>Clones</td><td>Ulster</td><td>St Tiernach's Park</td><td>29,000</td></tr><tr><td>New York</td><td>Bronx</td><td>North America</td><td>Gaelic Park</td><td>2,000</td></tr><tr><td>Offaly</td><td>Tullamore</td><td>Leinster</td><td>O'Connor Park</td><td>18,000</td></tr><tr><td>Roscommon</td><td>Roscommon</td><td>Connacht</td><td>Dr Hyde Park</td><td>18,890</td></tr><tr><td>Sligo</td><td>Sligo</td><td>Connacht</td><td>Markievicz Park</td><td>18,558</td></tr><tr><td>Tipperary</td><td>Thurles</td><td>Munster</td><td>Semple Stadium</td><td>45,690</td></tr><tr><td>Tyrone</td><td>Omagh</td><td>Ulster</td><td>Healy Park</td><td>17,636</td></tr><tr><td>Waterford</td><td>Waterford</td><td>Munster</td><td>Fraher Field</td><td>15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Westmeath</td><td>Mullingar</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Cusack Park</td><td>11,000</td></tr><tr><td>Wexford</td><td>Wexford</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Chadwicks Wexford Park</td><td>18,000</td></tr><tr><td>Wicklow</td><td>Aughrim</td><td>Leinster</td><td>Aughrim County Ground</td><td>7,000</td></tr></tbody></table>

Miscellaneous

2026 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

• Due to COVID-19 in 2021 it has taken an extra 5 years for Mayo vs London and Roscommon vs New York meetings to feature on the Connacht championship draw for the first time since 2016 and also to be held.