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 eight provincial finalists, the winners of the 2025 Tailteann Cup, and the highest-ranked teams in the Allianz League not already qualified. 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
In the quarter-final stage of the Connacht championship both London and New York will play the same fixtures as 2016, with Mayo going to England to face London at Ruislip while Roscommon will be in the US to play New York at Gaelic Park. Due to Covid-19 in 2021, these fixtures were cancelled.
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.
Provincial championships
Connacht Senior Football Championship
Quarter-finals
Rotation fixtures not held in 2021 due to Covid-19 last took place in 2016.
| 2026 Quarter-final | Mayo 
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v |  London
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Ruislip | |
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| Venue: McGovern Park | |||||
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| 2026 Quarter-final | Roscommon 
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v |  New York
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New York | |
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| Venue: Gaelic Park | |||||
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Team C fixture between Galway, Sligo and Leitrim 1st 2 teams in the draw will be meet last team out will a bye to the semi-final stage known as Team D.
| 2026 Quarter-final | v | If Galway vs Leitrim: in Carrick-on-Shannon; if Galway vs Sligo: in Galway; if Sligo vs Leitrim: in Sligo | |||
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Semi-finals
Teams A and B Mayo/London & Roscommon/New York. 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.
| 2026 Semi-final | v | ||||
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Final
| 2026 Final | v | ||||
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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.
| 2026 Preliminary round | v | ||||
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Quarter-finals
| 2026 Quarter-final | Dublin 
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| 2026 Quarter-final | Meath 
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| 2026 Quarter-final | Kildare 
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v | |||
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| 2026 Quarter-final | Louth 
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v | |||
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Semi-finals
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Final
| 2026 Final | v | Dublin | |||
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| Venue: Croke Park | |||||
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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
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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
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All Ireland series
Qualifiers
Round 1
Round 2
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.
| 2026 Semi-final | v | Dublin | |||
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| Venue: Croke Park | |||||
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| 2026 Semi-final | v | Dublin | |||
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| Venue: Croke Park | |||||
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Final
| 26 July 2026 Final | v | Dublin | |||
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| Venue: Croke Park | |||||
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Stadia and locations
Statistics
Top scorers
Overall
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
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In a single game
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
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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
- ^ "Kerry dash Donegal's dream in All-Ireland final". 27 July 2025.
- ^ "New All-Ireland SFC structure to be implemented in 2026". GAA. 22 February 2025.
- ^ "Group phase abolished as new football championship format approved for 2026". RTÉ. 22 February 2025.