The National Football League (NFL; ga, Sraith Náisiúnta Peile) is 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 ...

competition between the senior county teams of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

plus London. Sponsored by Allianz, it is officially known as the Allianz National Football League. The

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

organises the league. The winning team receives the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company. The National Football League is the second most prestigious inter-county Gaelic Football competition after the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

. Unlike many league competitions in sport, each team plays the other teams in their division only once. Teams that meet in the same division over the course of a number of years often play on a home and away basis in alternative years, though this is not strictly adhered to. Once the divisional matches have been played, the latter stages of the league become a knockout competition for the top teams in each division. This is seen as good preparation for the upcoming All-Ireland Championship and there is usually more intensity to the division finals than those played earlier in the league, but still lacking the intensity of Championship matches.

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

are the current league champions, having won the 2022 league.

History

The National Football League was first held in 1925–26, thirty-eight years after the first

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...

won the inaugural National Football League. The NFL has traditionally played second fiddle to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, with most counties using it as preparation for that event. This was not helped by the fact that the league was initially played in winter (usually November–March), while the Championship had the more attractive summer dates and knockout structure. Mayo dominated the early NFL, winning seven titles in eight seasons until the tournament was suspended during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. For many seasons in the 1950s and 1960s, the winners of the "home" league played New York in the NFL final; the journey to New York formed an additional prize for the winners. New York won three of these finals. In 2002, the league was changed to a February–April calendar. This increased interest, boosted attendances and led to live games being broadcast on

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

. The 2009 season was broadcast live on

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

. Coverage of the 2010 finals in Croke Park saw TG4 become the most watched channel, with 650,000 viewers tuning in to watch some of the games. The Division 1 Final had an average audience of 220,000 viewers. The National Football League winners receive the Irish National Insurance Cup, first presented to

in 1928–29. Kerry is the most successful team in the competition, having played in the final on twenty-nine occasions and won twenty-three of these. Both of these (final appearances and wins) are records. Kerry also is the team to have most often achieved the "double", by winning both the league title and the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Schedule

In the 20th century, National League fixtures were played during inter-county windows in the later and early months of the calendar year, while the SFC occupied the inter-county window during those months that made up the middle of the year, e.g. May, August. Club competitions of lesser importance occurred alongside the inter-county games so as to provide meaningful game time for players possessed of insufficient ability to compete at the higher (inter-county) level. From 2002, National League fixtures were played during the early months of the calendar year, preceding the SFC, which remained in the traditional mid-year position. An April club window allowed inter-county players to return to their clubs to participate in some early rounds of the more important club competitions, i.e. championship fixtures. This arrangement was disrupted during 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 ...

. Due to the impact of the pandemic on Gaelic games, the 2020 National League was suspended in March and all Gaelic games ceased until the middle of the year, when club fixtures were first to resume. The National League was then completed in October, ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (which was completed in December). This led to a motion (passed at the 2021 GAA Congress) to adopt a "split season" model, whereby club competitions would occupy one part of the calendar year and inter-county fixtures the other part.

Finals listed by year

Winners

{, cellpadding="1" 1px #aaa 90%;" , - style="background:#069; color:white;" ! County ! Wins ! Runners-up ! Winning seasons ! Years runners-up , - , Colours of Kerry

, 23 , 7 , 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1996–97, 2004,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, 2009, 2017,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

(shared),

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1979–80, 1986–87, 2008, 2016, 2019 , - , Colours of Dublin

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 14 , 14 , 1952–53, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1992–93,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018,

(shared) , 1925–26, 1933–34, 1940–41, 1951–52, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 2017,

, - ,

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

, 12 , 8 , 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1948–49, 1953–54, 1969–70, 2000–01, 2019 , 1950–51, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1977–78, 2007, 2010, 2012,

, - ,

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 ...

, 8 , 6 , 1951–52, 1955–56, 1979–80, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2010,

, 2012 , 1931–32, 1947–48, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1996–97, 2015 , - , Colours of Meath

Meath , 7 , 6 , 1932–33, 1945–46, 1950–51, 1974–75, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1993–94 , 1936–37, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1949–50, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1999–2000 , - , Colours of Derry

Derry , 6 , 6 , 1946–47, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2008 , 1958–59, 1960–61, 1975–76, 1997–98, 2009, 2014 , - , Colours of Galway

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, 4 , 6 , 1939–40, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1980–81 , 1965–66, 1983–84, 2000–01, 2004,

, 2018 , - , Colours of Down

Down , 4 , 4 , 1959–60, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1982–83 , 1962–63, 1963–64, 1969–70, 1989–90 , - , {{nowrap, Colours of New York

New YorkNew York received a bye to the final in 10 NFL seasons between 1949–50 and 1988–89. , 3 , 7 , 1949–50, 1963–64, 1966–67 , – , - , Colours of Tyrone

Tyrone , 2 , 2 , 2002, 2003 , 1991–92,

, - ,

, 2 , 1 , 1925–26, 1985–86 , 2003 , - , Colours of Cavan

Cavan , 1 , 5 , 1947–48 , 1930–31, 1932–33, 1952–53, 1959–60, 2002 , - , Colours of Donegal

Donegal , 1 , 3 , 2007 , 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96 , - , Colours of Armagh

Armagh , 1 , 3 , 2005 , 1982–83, 1984–85, 1993–94 , - , {{nowrap, Colours of Roscommon

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

, 1 , 2 , 1978–79 , 1973–74, 1980–81 , - , Colours of Offaly

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...

, 1 , 2 , 1997–98 , 1968–69, 1972–73 , - , Colours of Monaghan

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...

, 1 , 1 , 1984–85 , 1985–86 , - , Colours of Longford

Longford , 1 , 0 , 1965–66 , – , - , Colours of Kildare

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

, 0 , 5 , – , 1927–28, 1928–29, 1957–58, 1967–68, 1990–91 , - , Colours of Wexford

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

, 0 , 3 , – , 1937–38, 1945–46, 2005 , - , Colours of Carlow

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

, 0 , 1 , – , 1953–54 , - , Colours of Louth

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

, 0 , 1 , – , 1948–49 , - , Colours of Fermanagh

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of a ...

, 0 , 1 , – , 1934–35 {{reflist, group="note" The provinces by number of wins are as follows: {, cellpadding="1" 1px #aaa 90%;" , - style="background:#069; color:white;" , ! Province ! Wins ! Top county ! Last win , - , 1 , {{flagicon, Munster Munster , 30 ,

(22) , Kerry (

) , - , 2 , {{flagicon, Leinster

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

, 25 ,

(14) , Dublin (

) , - , 3= , {{flagicon, Ulster

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, 16 , Derry (6) , Derry ( 2008) , - , 3= , {{flagicon, Connacht

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

, 16 ,

(12) , Mayo ( 2019) , - , 5 , Overseas , 3 , New York (3) , New York ( 1966–67)

Records and statistics

{{main, National Football League (Ireland) records and statistics

References

{{Reflist

External links

National League Results, Fixtures and Statistics

Semi-final and final results 1926–

National Football League attendances
Seán Moran in ''The Irish Times'', 29 April 2014
"Five FL finals worth looking at again"
Hogan Stand, 7 April 2021 {{National Football League (Ireland) {{GAA National Leagues {{Gaelic football {{Authority control {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 All-Ireland organisations !

Professional sports leagues in Ireland

History

Schedule

Finals listed by year

Winners

Records and statistics

See also

References

External links