HoganStand GAA Football and Hurling

National Forum

Football Format Changes Discussion

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post

You need to Login to Post

Replying To legendzxix: "Hmmm. Provincial finalists have home advantage and avoid each other in Round 1. Would it just be an extra reward for provincial winners that they would have home advantage and avoid each other in Round 2. It's not a major restriction like. Just looking to offer some reasonable carrot for actually winning the finals." Why don't you just guarantee Kerry a place in AI semifinal each year, never mind all the hassle of playing too many teams? Let Cork start at qfinal stage, and tell everyone about the great munster championship performances, to get there. How Waterford "pushed us to the pin of our collars" etc, etc. Expertinall (UK) - Posts: 137 - 04/06/2026 18:38:48 2677965 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "Hmmm. Provincial finalists have home advantage and avoid each other in Round 1. Would it just be an extra reward for provincial winners that they would have home advantage and avoid each other in Round 2. It's not a major restriction like. Just looking to offer some reasonable carrot for actually winning the finals." I don't love the fully open draw, I'd rather do a draw for all at the start so each team knows their path to QF depending on whether they end up in R2A or B. But the biggest selling point of open draw is that any team can get any other if they haven't played before, throws up loads of new pairings like Louth Armagh! And when is the last time Kerry played Kildare in championship. So I don't like restricting the R2 draws that depending on which teams win there could only be 1 valid draw. systematic (Galway) - Posts: 311 - 04/06/2026 18:55:23 2677969 Link
Replying To Expertinall: "Why don't you just guarantee Kerry a place in AI semifinal each year, never mind all the hassle of playing too many teams? Let Cork start at qfinal stage, and tell everyone about the great munster championship performances, to get there. How Waterford "pushed us to the pin of our collars" etc, etc." There you go again. Your hatred of Kerry and everything munster clouds your logic and judgement. It basically means that your opinion is prejudiced and that makes it invalid. Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 536 - 04/06/2026 21:14:42 2677993 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Provincial winners should be seeded in Round 1 Provincial finalist should just get entry to Sam Maguire League Div 1 winners should be seeded also Previous years all ireland champs should be seeded if not one of the above Round 1 can be a semi open draw 1 pot with 4/5/6 names, the other pot with the rest Draw from POt 1 - and slot them in for a home draw then draw from pot 2 to get their oponent When you run out of teams in Pot 1, just keep drawing from pot 2, with first name out for each tie - getting home advantage. Keeps the provincial link - rewards provincial, league and All ireland winners. Winning a provincial is hard - getting to a final is dependent on the luck of the draw so shouldn't get the same reward." Im not totally against provincial finalists not being seeded but 4 pots of seeds 1 to 4 with 2 playing 3 does mean that the runners up do get a much harder draw. Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 536 - 04/06/2026 21:17:27 2677994 Link
Replying To Whammo86: "In the previous system if Donegal were knocked out of the Provincials at the round they were then they'd enter in qualifier round 1. Now Provincial and league performance is factored in, so the Provincials influence is diluted." But they do get home venue to compensate so not so much diluted as you seem to want to claim. Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 536 - 04/06/2026 21:18:52 2677995 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "Hmmm. Provincial finalists have home advantage and avoid each other in Round 1. Would it just be an extra reward for provincial winners that they would have home advantage and avoid each other in Round 2. It's not a major restriction like. Just looking to offer some reasonable carrot for actually winning the finals." Getting to a Provincial final should have nothing to do with whether you get a home draw or not, not all Provinces are on an equal starting point. Kerry and Cork have 100% chance of making Munster fin, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon have 2 in 3 chance and Leinster and Ulster have a lottery. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2721 - 04/06/2026 21:40:49 2677999 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Provincial winners should be seeded in Round 1 Provincial finalist should just get entry to Sam Maguire League Div 1 winners should be seeded also Previous years all ireland champs should be seeded if not one of the above Round 1 can be a semi open draw 1 pot with 4/5/6 names, the other pot with the rest Draw from POt 1 - and slot them in for a home draw then draw from pot 2 to get their oponent When you run out of teams in Pot 1, just keep drawing from pot 2, with first name out for each tie - getting home advantage. Keeps the provincial link - rewards provincial, league and All ireland winners. Winning a provincial is hard - getting to a final is dependent on the luck of the draw so shouldn't get the same reward." Yes, winning Munster is a real slog. JimB1991 (Donegal) - Posts: 189 - 04/06/2026 23:16:45 2678014 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Getting to a Provincial final should have nothing to do with whether you get a home draw or not, not all Provinces are on an equal starting point. Kerry and Cork have 100% chance of making Munster fin, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon have 2 in 3 chance and Leinster and Ulster have a lottery." Just a note that it is possible for Mayo, Roscommon, and Galway to be all on the same side of draw as Connacht don't/can't seed, so not quite a 2/3 chance. systematic (Galway) - Posts: 311 - 05/06/2026 00:04:18 2678017 Link
Replying To Tadhg2020: "But they do get home venue to compensate so not so much diluted as you seem to want to claim." Provincial champions used to get a quarterfinal place now they get home advantage in the last 16. It's undeniable that the Provincials are less important in terms of the All Ireland than they were. I'd argue that they are much less important than they were previously. You don't seem to agree with that and that's fine but I don't really care for you misrepresenting my argument. Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4695 - 05/06/2026 01:16:49 2678022 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Provincial winners should be seeded in Round 1 Provincial finalist should just get entry to Sam Maguire League Div 1 winners should be seeded also Previous years all ireland champs should be seeded if not one of the above Round 1 can be a semi open draw 1 pot with 4/5/6 names, the other pot with the rest Draw from POt 1 - and slot them in for a home draw then draw from pot 2 to get their oponent When you run out of teams in Pot 1, just keep drawing from pot 2, with first name out for each tie - getting home advantage. Keeps the provincial link - rewards provincial, league and All ireland winners. Winning a provincial is hard - getting to a final is dependent on the luck of the draw so shouldn't get the same reward." Winning Munster is not TOO hard! omahant (USA) - Posts: 3440 - 05/06/2026 02:00:36 2678023 Link
Re-hashing - To neutralise Prov imbalance (based on old Qualifiers): 1) Prov Prelim & QF Rds (no change) 2) Prov SF 16 & Rd 1 Qual 16 (ALL with back door - latter for 1 more rd & former for 3 more rds) 3) Prov Finals 8 & Rd 2 Qual 16 (Rd 1 Qual & Prov SF losers) 4) Prov Champs 4 Playoffs & Rd 3 Qual 20 (Rd 1 & 2 winners & Prov Final losers) 5) Rd 4 Qual 12 (Rd 3 winners & Prov Champs losers) 6) AI QFs (Prov Champs unbeaten 2 & Rd 4 winners) 7) AI SFs 8) AI Final KO Rds are: Rd 2 Qual (8 go out); Rd 3 Qual (10 go out) Rd 4 Qual (6 go out); QFs, SF, F (4,2,1 go out). omahant (USA) - Posts: 3440 - 05/06/2026 02:17:20 2678024 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "Getting to a Provincial final should have nothing to do with whether you get a home draw or not, not all Provinces are on an equal starting point. Kerry and Cork have 100% chance of making Munster fin, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon have 2 in 3 chance and Leinster and Ulster have a lottery." I don't disagree. All counties regardless of size can only produce 1 senior champion. All provinces regardless of seeding system or size can only produce 1 champion. Provincial runners up are being overly rewarded. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9778 - 05/06/2026 07:55:55 2678027 Link
Replying To tirawleybaron: "Provincial winners should be seeded in Round 1 Provincial finalist should just get entry to Sam Maguire League Div 1 winners should be seeded also Previous years all ireland champs should be seeded if not one of the above Round 1 can be a semi open draw 1 pot with 4/5/6 names, the other pot with the rest Draw from POt 1 - and slot them in for a home draw then draw from pot 2 to get their oponent When you run out of teams in Pot 1, just keep drawing from pot 2, with first name out for each tie - getting home advantage. Keeps the provincial link - rewards provincial, league and All ireland winners. Winning a provincial is hard - getting to a final is dependent on the luck of the draw so shouldn't get the same reward." The new AI Series is designed to address the unfairness of the 4 Provincial Championships. An open draw is the only way to give each of the 16 Counties a fair chance to advance in the competition. Most Counties don't take the League serious and use it to try out new players. Scenicparish (Donegal) - Posts: 1001 - 05/06/2026 08:06:09 2678028 Link
It is flawed that 1 Connacht and 2 Munster are only 1 game away from rewards via finals. A proposal to even out the provinces was rejected. Ulster and Leinster counties seem to prefer an extra hurdle than compete in another province. Ulster and Leinster delegates should bring a workable solution. legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9778 - 05/06/2026 09:27:31 2678040 Link
Replying To legendzxix: "It is flawed that 1 Connacht and 2 Munster are only 1 game away from rewards via finals. A proposal to even out the provinces was rejected. Ulster and Leinster counties seem to prefer an extra hurdle than compete in another province. Ulster and Leinster delegates should bring a workable solution." A workable solution would be for there just to be Provincial champions going forward to the Sam Maguire stages. Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4695 - 05/06/2026 09:51:19 2678047 Link
Replying To JimB1991: "Yes, winning Munster is a real slog." Yes its a cakewalk, but so was Leinster. in the 70's and 80's the Connacht and Ulster winners weren't up to much (for different reasons to be fair). I personally would be up for total separation of Province and All Ireland - but when you look at the votes in congress Carlow 2 - shouldn't care Dublin 5 - would keep link Kildare 3 - would keep link Kilkenny 2 - shouldn't be allowed vote Laois 3 - shouldn't care Longford 2 - shouldn't care Louth 2 - would keep link Meath 3 - would keep link Offaly 2 - would keep link Westmeath 3 - would keep link Wexford 3 - shouldn't care Wicklow 2 - shouldn't care Galway 4 - would keep link Leitrim 2 - would keep link Mayo 3 - would keep link Roscommon 2 - would keep link Sligo 2 - would keep link Clare 3 - would keep link Cork 5 - would keep link Kerry 4 - would keep link Limerick 4 - would keep link Tipperary 4 - would keep link Waterford 3 - would keep link Antrim 3 Armagh 3 Cavan 2 Derry 2 Donegal 2 Down 3 Fermanagh 2 Monaghan 2 Tyrone 3 All of Ulster usually says no. London 2 - would keep link Hertfordshire 2 Warwickshire 2 Gloucestershire 2 Lancashire 2 Yorkshire 2 Scotland 2 Europe 4 New York 2 USGAA 5 Canada 2 Australasia 3 Asia 2 Middle East 2 All of the above shouldn't care. Total County vote 124 Central Council 52 - will vote with the provincial councils Iar Uachtarán 7 - goes with the flow Total Vote 183 max vote to decouple Provincials from All Ireland - 46 - so it wont ever happen. Counties that regularly win provincials want the leg up in the All Ireland - they have the most votes. Counties that have a chance of winning occasionally - they also want a leg up if they win. I do find it strange that counties that have been poorly served by the provincial system, still vote to make sure it gives the stronger counties an advantage. If counties were objective and working in their own best interest, they would vote for a system that got them away form the jackboot of their long time overlords. All Ireland - groups based on last 10 years championship results Group 1A - Kerry, Mayo, Galway, Dublin, Group 1B - Meath, Tyrone, Armagh, Donegal Group 2A - Derry, Monaghan, Down, Cavan Group 2B - Roscommon, Cork, Louth, Westmeath, Group 3A - Antrim, Fermanagh, Laois, Offaly Group 3B - Clare, Limerick, Wexford, Wicklow Group 4 - Sligo, Leitrim, Carlow, Tipperary, Group 5 - London, Waterford, Junior Champs SAM MAGUIRE Prelim Q finals A - 4th 1A v 1st 3A B - 4th 1B v 1st 3B C - 1st 2A v 2nd 2B D - 1st 2B v 2nd 2A Q finals 1st 1A (Home) v B 1st 1B (Home) v A 2nd 1A (Neutral) v D 2nd 1B (Neutral) v C TAILTEANN CUP Semi finals A - 2nd 3A v 3rd 3B B - 2nd 3B v 3rd 3A TOMMY MURPHY Semi finals 1st Group 4 - New York (In New York) 2nd Group 4 v 1st Group 5 Final in New York tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1855 - 05/06/2026 09:54:40 2678048 Link