All-Ireland Senior Football Championship facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about Gaelic football (male). For Gaelic football (women), see All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship.

Quick facts for kids All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Current season or competition: 2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Logo
Irish	Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann
Code	Gaelic football
Founded	1887; 138 years ago (1887)
Region	Ireland (32 Teams) England (1 team) United States (1 team) (GAA)
Trophy	Sam Maguire Cup
No. of teams	34
Title holders	Kerry (39th title)
Most titles	Kerry (39 titles)
Sponsors	Supervalu Allied Irish Bank Allianz
TV partner(s)	RTÉ, BBC Northern Ireland, Premier Sports, TG4

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) is the biggest competition in Gaelic football for county teams. Teams from different counties play against each other to find out who is the best in Ireland. The winner is called the All-Ireland Champion.

This exciting championship is run by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It has been played almost every year since it started in 1887. The final game is held at Croke Park in Dublin. The winning team gets to lift the famous Sam Maguire Cup.

For a long time, if a team lost a game, they were out of the championship. This is called a "knockout" system. In recent years, the rules for getting into the championship have changed a few times. Now, teams qualify from six different competitions. This includes the top teams from the four provincial championships: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. The winner of the Tailteann Cup also gets a spot, along with the best teams from the National Football League who haven't already qualified. These teams then play in a group stage with 16 teams.

Thirty-three teams currently play in the All-Ireland Championship. Some of the most successful teams are Kerry, Dublin, Galway, and Cavan.

Nineteen counties have won the title, and eighteen of them have won it more than once. Kerry holds the record with 39 wins. They are the current champions, having beaten Donegal in the 2025 final.

History of the Championship

The very first Championship in 1887 had club teams playing. These clubs represented their counties. The final was between Commercials from Limerick and Young Irelands from Louth. Commercials won the game. In these early years, there were no provincial championships.

In 1892, the championship changed to feature inter-county teams. This meant players from different clubs in a county could play together for their county team. The rules also changed, making goals worth five points and reducing teams from 21 to 17 players.

1903 was a special year because Kerry won their first All-Ireland title. They went on to become the most successful team in the history of the championship.

Unlike many other sports events around the world, the All-Ireland Championship has been played every year since 1887. The final has been held every year since 1889. It even continued during tough times like the Civil War and the Second World War. In 1941, the championship faced a challenge due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, but games were rescheduled.

In the 1970s, some championship matches were made longer, from 60 to 80 minutes. But after five seasons, they settled on 70 minutes in 1975. This longer time was only for provincial finals, All-Ireland semi-finals, and finals.

The first half of the 1900s saw many teams win multiple titles, like Kildare, Mayo, Cavan, Wexford, and Roscommon. In the 1990s, teams from Ulster started winning a lot, with an Ulster team winning four years in a row (1991–1994). Since then, Ulster has had more All-Ireland winning teams than any other province.

In 2001, the "All-Ireland Qualifiers" were introduced. This gave teams that didn't win their provincial championship another chance to stay in the competition. Galway was the first team to win the All-Ireland by coming through this "back door" system. In 2013, a technology called Hawk-Eye was brought in for matches at Croke Park. It helps decide if a shot has gone over the bar for a point or wide.

More changes have happened recently. In 2018, the "Super 8s" were added. This was a group stage for the top eight teams. In 2022, a new two-tier system was introduced. Teams from lower divisions of the National Football League who didn't reach a provincial final would play in the Tailteann Cup instead of the main All-Ireland qualifiers.

How the Championship Works Now (2023 onwards)

The way the championship works changed again in 2023. Now, how well a county team does in the National Football League earlier in the year affects their path in the championship.

After the four provincial championships are finished, there's a group stage for 16 teams. These groups include the four provincial champions, the four provincial runners-up, and eight more teams based on their league performance.

The four teams that win their groups go straight to the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals.
The teams that finish second and third in their groups play in "preliminary quarter-finals" to get the remaining four spots in the quarter-finals.
After this, the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final are all knockout games. If a team loses, they are out.

Also, 16 teams that don't qualify for the main group stage play in the Tailteann Cup. This is a second-tier competition, also with group stages and knockout finals.

Future Changes (2026)

There are plans for a new format for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship starting in 2026. This new plan aims to make the schedule easier and create a clearer break between the league and the provincial championships.

The new format would still have the provincial championships. After these, the eight provincial finalists, the top seven National Football League teams, and the Tailteann Cup winners would all enter the first round of the Sam Maguire Cup. The winners of this round would go directly to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The other quarter-final spots would be decided by games between the teams that lost in the provincial finals and the teams that lost in the first round of the Sam Maguire Cup.

Teams would be guaranteed at least three championship games in 2026.

Teams and Where They Play

Counties in the Championship

Fans of Sligo (in black) are visible in the crowd among supporters of Cork, Meath and Tyrone. The introduction of the All-Ireland Qualifiers in 2001 gave smaller counties chances to play big games at Croke Park.

Ireland has thirty-two counties, and each one has its own County Board that manages Gaelic games. County teams play in their own Provincial Championships. These provinces are Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. Interestingly, teams from London and New York also play in the Connacht Championship. Kilkenny is the only Irish county that doesn't have a team in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The Provincial Championships are knockout competitions, meaning if you lose, you're out.

How Provincial Championships Work

Connacht Championship (Seven teams)

Quarter-finals: Three matches are played. Three teams are knocked out, and the winners move to the semi-finals. London and New York play in this championship every five years.
Semi-finals: The three quarter-final winners join one team that had a "bye" (didn't have to play in the first round). Two teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners play. Both the Connacht champions and the runners-up (the team that lost the final) go straight into the All-Ireland group stage.

Leinster Championship (Eleven teams)

Preliminary round: Three matches are played. Three teams are knocked out, and the winners move to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals: The three preliminary round winners join five other teams. Four teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners play. Two teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners play. Both the Leinster champions and the runners-up go straight into the All-Ireland group stage.

Munster Championship (Six teams)

Quarter-finals: Two matches are played. Two teams are knocked out, and the winners move to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: The two quarter-final winners join two other teams that had a bye. Two teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners play. Both the Munster champions and the runners-up go straight into the All-Ireland group stage.

Ulster Championship (Nine teams)

Preliminary round: One match is played. One team is knocked out, and the winner moves to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals: The preliminary round winner joins seven other teams. Four teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners play. Two teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners play. Both the Ulster champions and the runners-up go straight into the All-Ireland group stage.

All-Ireland Group Stage

Group stage (16 teams): The 8 provincial finalists, the Tailteann Cup winners, and the next 7 highest-ranked teams from the National Football League make up these teams. They are split into four groups of four.
The winners of each group go straight to the All-Ireland Quarter-finals.
The teams that finish second and third in their groups go to the preliminary quarter-finals.
Four teams are eliminated at this stage, while twelve teams move on to the knockout stage.

All-Ireland Knockout Stage

Preliminary Quarter-finals (12 teams): The second-placed teams from the group stage play against the third-placed teams. Teams that played each other in provincial finals are kept apart if possible. Four teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals (8 teams): The winners of the preliminary quarter-finals join the group winners. Again, teams that met in provincial finals are kept apart if possible. Four teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals (4 teams): The winners of the quarter-finals play each other. Teams that met in provincial finals are kept apart. Two teams are eliminated, and the winners go to the final.
Final: The two winners of the semi-finals play for the championship. The winning team is crowned All-Ireland champions!

Main Stadiums

Dublin	Thurles	Limerick	Killarney
Croke Park	Semple Stadium	Gaelic Grounds	Fitzgerald Stadium
Capacity: 82,300	Capacity: 45,690	Capacity: 44,023	Capacity: 38,000
Croke Park	Semple Stadium	Gaelic Grounds	Fitzgerald Stadium
Castlebar			Clones
MacHale Park			St Tiernach's Park
Capacity: 25,369			Capacity: 29,000
MacHale Park			St Tiernach's Park
Galway			Cork	Kilkenny	Cavan
Pearse Stadium	Páirc Uí Chaoimh	Nowlan Park	Breffni Park
Capacity: 26,197	Capacity: 45,000	Capacity: 27,000	Capacity: 25,030
Pearse Stadium	Páirc Uí Chaoimh	Nowlan Park	Breffni Park

The All-Ireland Final

Croke Park filled with the green and red colours of Mayo fans at the 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.

The All-Ireland Finals for men's football, ladies' football, hurling, and camogie usually happen in July at Croke Park. This is the main stadium for the GAA. Two different age groups play on final day: the senior teams (adult players) and the minor teams (younger players under 18). Important people like the President of Ireland and the Taoiseach often attend these events. The football final is seen as the most important event of this time.

Historically, the football final was played on the third Sunday of September. But since 2022, it has been held on the third Sunday of July. Over 80,000 fans often come to watch the men's final. The captain of the winning team gets to lift the Sam Maguire Cup. The current champions are Armagh.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was played on Saturday, December 19th. This was different from the usual schedule.

Who Has Won the Championship?

Winners by County

County	Titles Won	Times Runner-up	Years Won	Years Lost in Final
Kerry	39	24	1903, 1904, 1909, 1913, 1914, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1962, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2022, 2025	1892, 1905, 1910, 1915, 1923, 1927, 1938, 1944, 1947, 1954, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1982, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023
Dublin	31	13	1891, 1892, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1942, 1958, 1963, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1995, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023	1896, 1904, 1920, 1924, 1934, 1955, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1994
Galway	9	15	1925, 1934, 1938, 1956, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1998, 2001	1919, 1922, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1959, 1963, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1983, 2000, 2022, 2024
Cork	7	16	1890, 1911, 1945, 1973, 1989, 1990, 2010	1891, 1893, 1894, 1897, 1899, 1906, 1907, 1956, 1957, 1967, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2007, 2009
Meath	7	9	1949, 1954, 1967, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1999	1895, 1939, 1951, 1952, 1966, 1970, 1990, 1991, 2001
Cavan	5	6	1933, 1935, 1947, 1948, 1952	1925, 1928, 1937, 1943, 1945, 1949
Wexford	5	3	1893, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918	1890, 1913, 1914
Down	5	1	1960, 1961, 1968, 1991, 1994	2010
Kildare	4	5	1905, 1919, 1927, 1928	1926, 1929, 1931, 1935, 1998
Tyrone	4	3	2003, 2005, 2008, 2021	1986, 1995, 2018
Tipperary	4	1	1889, 1895, 1900, 1920	1918
Mayo	3	15	1936, 1950, 1951	1916, 1921, 1932, 1948, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021
Offaly	3	3	1971, 1972, 1982	1961, 1969, 1981
Louth	3	3	1910, 1912, 1957	1887, 1909, 1950
Roscommon	2	3	1943, 1944	1946, 1962, 1980
Armagh	2	3	2002, 2024	1953, 1977, 2003
Donegal	2	2	1992, 2012	2014, 2025
Limerick	2	0	1887, 1896	–
Derry	1	1	1993	1958
London	0	5	–	1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1908
Laois	0	2	–	1889, 1936
Antrim	0	2	–	1911, 1912
Waterford	0	1	–	1898
Clare	0	1	–	1917
Monaghan	0	1	–	1930

Note: London received a "bye" (meaning they didn't have to play) straight to the final in five seasons.

Winners by Province

Province	Winners	Runners-up	Total Finals
Leinster	53	38	91
Munster	51	43	94
Ulster	18	18	36
Connacht	14	32	46
Britain	0	5	5

Interesting Facts About Winners

Wexford was the first county to win four All-Ireland Senior Football Finals in a row (from 1915 to 1918).
However, Kerry is the most successful team overall. As of 2023, Kerry has won the competition 39 times. They won four years in a row twice (1929–1932 and 1978–1981) and three years in a row twice (1939–1941 and 1984–1986).
Dublin is second with 31 wins. Dublin joined the "four in a row" club in 2018, winning consecutively since 2015. In 2019, Dublin became the first team to win five times in a row, and in 2020, they won a sixth consecutive title!
Galway was the first team from the western province of Connacht to win an All-Ireland title in 1925.
The 1933 final saw Cavan become the first team from the northern province of Ulster to win an All-Ireland title.
Two teams have won both the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in the same year: Cork (in 1890 and 1990) and Tipperary (in 1895 and 1900). This is called "The Double."
No team from outside Ireland has ever won the championship, but London has played in five finals.
Kerry are the current champions, winning their 39th title by defeating Donegal in the 2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.

Top Players

Player of the Year Winners

This award goes to the best player in the championship each year.

Year	Player	County
2024	Paul Conroy	Galway
2023	David Clifford	Kerry
2022	David Clifford	Kerry
2021	Kieran McGeary	Tyrone
2020	Brian Fenton	Dublin
2019	Stephen Cluxton	Dublin
2018	Brian Fenton	Dublin
2017	Andy Moran	Mayo
2016	Lee Keegan	Mayo
2015	Jack McCaffrey	Dublin
2014	James O'Donoghue	Kerry

Players with Most Appearances

These players have played in the most All-Ireland Senior Football Championship games.

Rank	Player	Team	Games Played	Years Active
1	Stephen Cluxton	Dublin	111	2001–present
2	Seán Cavanagh	Tyrone	89	2002–2017
3	Marc Ó Sé	Kerry	88	2002–2015
4	Tomás Ó Sé	Kerry	88	1998–2013
5	Colm Cooper	Kerry	85	2002–2016
6	Andy Moran	Mayo	84	2004–2019
7	Darragh Ó Sé	Kerry	81	1997–2010
8	Ross Munnelly	Laois	79	2003–2022
9	Aidan O'Shea	Mayo	78	2009–present
10	Tom O'Sullivan	Kerry	76	2000–2011

Other Football Championships

Besides the main All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, there are other important competitions:

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (for hurling, another Irish sport)
List of All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal winners
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship (for club teams, not county teams)
List of Gaelic games competitions
- Leinster Senior Football Championship
- Ulster Senior Football Championship
- Connacht Senior Football Championship
- Munster Senior Football Championship
- Tailteann Cup (This is the second level of the championship)
- All-Ireland Junior Football Championship (This is the third level of the championship)