The 2021

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, known for sponsorship reasons as the

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

National Football League, was the 90th staging of the

(NFL), an annual

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

tournament for

Gaelic Athletic Association county A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has ...

teams. Thirty-one county teams from the island of Ireland compete;

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

do not participate.

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

did not participate, due to restrictions around travel in place to deal with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In December 2020, it was announced that each division would be divided into North and South sections in order to reduce fixtures and minimise cross-border matches. This plan had been hinted at as early as September 2020. Teams would play three league games, plus possibly two knockout matches, allowing the tournament to be finished in just five rounds of games. In February 2021, it was announced that the league would be delayed due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games As with other sports, the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption to Gaelic games, primarily in Ireland but also elsewhere in the world. Competitions were cancelled, postponed or restructured, while some teams were withdrawn or were unable to pa ...

and that cancelling it would be a last resort. It began on 15 May 2021. Due to COVID-19, finals were not played if a team had a championship game scheduled for the following week. This resulted in three divisions having their finals cancelled and being awarded jointly. and shared the Division 1 title; and Division 2; and and Division 4. and would have shared the Division 3 title, but chose to play the final instead. It was a pilot COVID test event with 2,400 spectators permitted, and Derry won.

Format

League structure

The 2021 National Football League consists of three divisions of eight teams and one of seven. Each division is divided into a North and South section; each team plays every other team in its section once. Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. In the top division, Division 1, teams compete to become the National Football League (NFL) champions. The top two in each section qualify for the NFL semi-finals. Teams compete for

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to a higher or lower league. In Divisions 2, 3 and 4, the top two teams in each group play in the divisional semi-finals, with each team that reaches the divisional final being promoted. Division finals are not played if a team is scheduled to play a championship match on 26/27 June 2021; the division title will be shared. The bottom two teams in each section in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 enter relegation playoffs, with the losers relegated. The third-placed teams in each section in Division 4 enter the Division 4 Shield Final.

Tiebreakers for league ranking

As per the Official GAA Guide - Part 1 - Section 6.21 - If two teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the group phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied: #Where two teams only are involved - the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the group game; If three or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the group phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied: #Scoring Difference (subtracting the total scores against from total scores for); #Highest Total Score For; #A Play-Off. In the event that two teams or more finish with equal points, but have been affected by a disqualification, loss of game on a proven objection, retirement or walkover, the tie shall be decided by the following means: #Score Difference from the games in which only the teams involved, (teams tied on points), have played each other. (subtracting the total Scores Against from total Scores For) #Highest Total Score For, in which only the teams involved, have played each other, and have finished equal under rule 1 above #A Play-Off

Division 1

Division 1 North

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 1 South

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 1 Relegation Playoffs

Division 1 Finals

''Dublin and Kerry shared the 2021 NFL title, as Kerry had a championship game on 26 June 2021.''

Division 2

Division 2 North

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 2 South

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 2 Relegation Playoffs

Division 2 Finals

''Kildare and Mayo shared the Division 2 title, as Mayo had a championship game on 26 June 2021.''

Division 3

Division 3 North

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 3 South

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 3 Relegation Playoffs

Division 3 Finals

Division 4

Division 4 North

Table

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

Round 3

Division 4 South

Table

, affected by the

, did not compete due to travel restrictions.

Matches

= Round 1

= Round 2

= Round 3

Division 4 Shield

Division 4 Finals

''Antrim and Louth shared the Division 4 title, as Louth had a championship game on 27 June 2021.''

League statistics

Scoring events

David Tubridy David Tubridy (born 1987) is a Gaelic footballer. He plays senior football for Doonbeg and the Clare county team. Tubridy plays as a forward. The '' Irish Independent'' has described him as "the floating butterfly lurking on the Clare '45". ...

(Clare) became top scorer in National Football League history against

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in May 2021, his total score in the competition after this game (22–412, i.e. 478 points) causing him to overtake Mickey Kearins (Sligo, 1961–1978).

References

{{GAA 2021, state=expanded

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

National Football League (Ireland) seasons