2020 National Football League (Ireland)

The 2020 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Football League, is the 89th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for Gaelic Athletic Association county teams. Thirty-one county teams from the island of Ireland, plus London, compete. Kilkenny do not participate.

2020 National Football League
League details
Dates25 January – 25 October, 2020
Teams32
League champions
← 2019
2021 →

The league was originally scheduled to end in March 2020, but the public health measures introduced to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the final two league rounds being delayed to October.[1][2][3] In June 2020 the GAA announced that the league finals would not be played with the division winners being determined by table position at the end of the league rounds. This was only the second NFL season to be decided without a final (the first was in 1935–36).[4]

The GAA announced a new broadcast agreement on 10 January 2019 that runs from 2019 until 2022. Eir Sport and RTÉ provide live TV coverage of the league on Saturday nights. TG4 broadcast Sunday afternoon games. The highlights programmes are RTÉ2's League Sunday on Sunday evenings, TG4's GAA 2019 on Monday evenings and Eir Sport's Allianz Leagues Reloaded on Wednesday evenings.[5][6]

Format

League structure

The 2020 National Football League consists of four divisions of eight teams. Each team plays every other team in its division once, usually four home and three away or three home and four away. Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw.

Teams by Province and Division
ProvinceDivision 1Division 2Division 3Division 4Total
Connacht21115
Leinster233311
Munster11226
Ulster33219
Britain00011
Total888832

Tie-breaker

If only two teams are level on league points –

  • The team that won the head-to-head match is ranked first
  • If this game was a draw, score difference (total scored minus total conceded in all games) is used to rank the teams
  • If score differences are identical, total scored in all seven league games is used to rank the teams
  • If still identical, a play-off is required

If three or more teams are level on league points –

  • Score difference is used to rank the teams
  • If score differences are identical, total scored in all seven league games is used to rank the teams

Finals, promotions and relegations

Division 1

The first-placed team is the winner of the NFL. (Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there would have been a final between the top two teams.) The bottom two teams are relegated to Division 2.

Division 2, Division 3 & Division 4

The top two teams in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 are promoted. The bottom two teams in Divisions 2 and 3 are relegated.

Division 1

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Galway 5 4 0 1 96 74 +22 8 NFL champions
2 Kerry 5 3 1 1 92 88 +4 7
3 Tyrone 5 3 0 2 67 81 −14 6
4 Dublin 5 2 2 1 82 78 +4 6
5 Donegal 5 2 1 2 84 66 +18 5
6 Monaghan 5 2 1 2 79 77 +2 5
7 Mayo 5 1 1 3 68 83 −15 3 Relegation to Division 2
8 Meath 5 0 0 5 64 85 −21 0
First match(es) will be played on 25 January 2020. Source: GAA.ie
Rules for classification: 1) League points 2) Where only two teams are involved, the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the competition 3) Scoring Difference 4) Highest Total Score For 5) A Play-Off.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Division 2

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Armagh 5 3 1 1 94 68 +26 7 Promotion to Division 1
2 Roscommon 5 3 1 1 79 62 +17 7
3 Cavan 5 3 0 2 82 80 +2 6
4 Westmeath 5 2 1 2 74 82 −8 5
5 Laois 5 2 1 2 70 78 −8 5
6 Clare 5 2 0 3 60 66 −6 4
7 Kildare 5 2 0 3 66 68 −2 4 Relegation to Division 3
8 Fermanagh 5 1 0 4 59 80 −21 2
First match(es) will be played on 25 January 2020. Source: GAA.ie
Rules for classification: 1) League points 2) Where only two teams are involved, the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the competition 3) Scoring Difference 4) Highest Total Score For 5) A Play-Off.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Division 3

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Cork 5 5 0 0 98 74 +24 10 Promotion to Division 2
2 Longford 5 3 1 1 84 70 +14 7
3 Derry 5 2 1 2 75 70 +5 5
4 Offaly 5 2 1 2 73 77 −4 5
5 Down 5 3 1 1 71 64 +7 7
6 Tipperary 5 1 1 3 63 73 −10 3
7 Leitrim 5 1 1 3 75 92 −17 3 Relegation to Division 4
8 Louth 5 0 0 5 66 85 −19 0
First match(es) will be played on 25 January 2020. Source: GAA.ie
Rules for classification: 1) League points 2) Where only two teams are involved, the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the competition 3) Scoring Difference 4) Highest Total Score For 5) A Play-Off.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Division 4

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Limerick 5 4 0 1 71 70 +1 8 Promotion to Division 3
2 Wexford 5 3 0 2 77 61 +16 6
3 Antrim 5 3 1 1 85 64 +21 7
4 Wicklow 5 3 0 2 85 74 +11 6
5 Sligo 5 3 0 2 81 73 +8 6
6 Carlow 5 1 2 2 60 66 −6 4
7 Waterford 5 1 1 3 65 75 −10 3
8 London 5 0 0 5 56 97 −41 0
First match(es) will be played on 25 January 2020. Source: GAA.ie
Rules for classification: 1) League points 2) Where only two teams are involved, the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the competition 3) Scoring Difference 4) Highest Total Score For 5) A Play-Off.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7


League Statistics

Top Scorer: Overall
Rank Player County Tally Total
1 Shane Walsh Galway 2-29 35
2 Shane McGuigan Derry 2-28 34
3 Keith Beirne Leitrim 1-29 32
4 Ben Brosnan Wexford 3-22 31
5 Dean Rock Dublin 2-23 29
6 David Clifford Kerry 2-21 27
7 Darren McCurry Tyrone 1-23 26
8 Paddy Cunningham Antrim 0-25 25
8 John Heslin Westmeath 1-22 25
10 Sean O'Shea Kerry 1-21 24
10 Michael Murphy Donegal 2-18 24
10 Evan O'Carroll Laois 1-21 24

Top Scorer: Single game

Scoring Events
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References
  1. "U21 championship delayed with Clare Cup start deferred". March 12, 2020.
  2. GBFM, Sport (March 12, 2020). "Sporting Events Postponed Due to Coronavirus Scare".
  3. "Coronavirus: A comprehensive guide as Irish and global sport shuts down in effort to contain spread of Covid-19". independent.
  4. O'Toole, Fintan. "December All-Ireland final dates confirmed as GAA unveil 2020 championship plan". The42.
  5. "GAA, RTE and eir sport announce new broadcast agreement". www.hoganstand.com. Hogan Stand. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  6. "How the 2019 National Football League divisions will look". SportsJOE.ie.
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