National Forum

Football Format Changes Discussion

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Replying To tirawleybaron:  "Now the reality sets in
Down have to beat Donegal and Armagh to make an Ulster final

Cork had to beat Limerick and TIpp -

how is this system fail again?"
Only Provincial winners should be seeded.

Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 516 - 27/04/2026 12:00:49    2669156

Link

Replying To Whammo86:  "To be honest I don't even have an issue with the Provincials being linked to the All Ireland but I just don't think the current system does it very well or works as a whole.

To link the Provincials to the All Ireland either involves a very unfair system or more often than not an overly complicated one.

If we were to zoom out a few years and look at some of the issues with the championship how many of those were actually properly resolved."
We might be seeing a natural separation developing between provincial and all ireland.
There is just no way anyone can compare Downs route, and say Corks? This separation is the way forward, previous league positions put you in 16 team all-ireland, with a promotion and relegation in play. Pick a format of play after that. Too simple maybe??

Expertinall (UK) - Posts: 30 - 27/04/2026 16:32:00    2669307

Link

Replying To Expertinall:  "We might be seeing a natural separation developing between provincial and all ireland.
There is just no way anyone can compare Downs route, and say Corks? This separation is the way forward, previous league positions put you in 16 team all-ireland, with a promotion and relegation in play. Pick a format of play after that. Too simple maybe??"
Why not?
Cork are in Sam regardless of Provincial performance due to their league position. Afaik Down need to qualify for an ulster final to be certain of a place in Sam. This is, again, as a result of league position. Isn't that how it should be?

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 254 - 28/04/2026 15:05:10    2669546

Link

Replying To Tadhg2020:  "Why not?
Cork are in Sam regardless of Provincial performance due to their league position. Afaik Down need to qualify for an ulster final to be certain of a place in Sam. This is, again, as a result of league position. Isn't that how it should be?"
You missed the point.

Cork beat 2 div 4 teams and now have a home draw in the All Ireland. Kerry beat 1 div 3 team.
No one else has such an advantage.

The only solution is a merger of Munster/Ulster and Connacht/Leinster - rotating every year to be Connacht/Ulster and Munster/Leinster (and move London to Ulster).

Open draws, finalists in each championship seeded in All Ireland.

tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1778 - 28/04/2026 16:43:39    2669584

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "You missed the point.

Cork beat 2 div 4 teams and now have a home draw in the All Ireland. Kerry beat 1 div 3 team.
No one else has such an advantage.

The only solution is a merger of Munster/Ulster and Connacht/Leinster - rotating every year to be Connacht/Ulster and Munster/Leinster (and move London to Ulster).

Open draws, finalists in each championship seeded in All Ireland."
Merging Munster and Ulster is mental given the distance to travel. A better option would be to get rid of Provincial championships entirely.

Whammo86 (Antrim) - Posts: 4639 - 28/04/2026 17:24:11    2669602

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "You missed the point.

Cork beat 2 div 4 teams and now have a home draw in the All Ireland. Kerry beat 1 div 3 team.
No one else has such an advantage.

The only solution is a merger of Munster/Ulster and Connacht/Leinster - rotating every year to be Connacht/Ulster and Munster/Leinster (and move London to Ulster).

Open draws, finalists in each championship seeded in All Ireland."
Or you could just remove the seeding for the provincial runners up and just seed the winners. That would work just as well. You could even remove the Sam guarentee for the provincial runners up and that would solve it further.
The provincial championship isn't the root of all evil.

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 254 - 28/04/2026 18:24:50    2669613

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "You missed the point.

Cork beat 2 div 4 teams and now have a home draw in the All Ireland. Kerry beat 1 div 3 team.
No one else has such an advantage.

The only solution is a merger of Munster/Ulster and Connacht/Leinster - rotating every year to be Connacht/Ulster and Munster/Leinster (and move London to Ulster).

Open draws, finalists in each championship seeded in All Ireland."
Something definitely needs to happen as otherwise we'll get another year like 2023 again where Sligo/Leitrim and Clare/Tipp play semi to get into All Ireland. Nothing stopping that happening in either province.
Maybe a team not already qualified through league can only qualify via provincial final if they beat a already qualified team either along way or in final.

systematic (Galway) - Posts: 267 - 28/04/2026 19:42:37    2669623

Link

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "You missed the point.

Cork beat 2 div 4 teams and now have a home draw in the All Ireland. Kerry beat 1 div 3 team.
No one else has such an advantage.

The only solution is a merger of Munster/Ulster and Connacht/Leinster - rotating every year to be Connacht/Ulster and Munster/Leinster (and move London to Ulster).

Open draws, finalists in each championship seeded in All Ireland."
How about prior year 'AIC Final 4' (or 8) play Sam the next year (again neutralised Prov imbalance)? The remaining 12 (or 8) via prior TC Champ, current year League, with guarantee (or not) for current Prov Champs.

omahant (USA) - Posts: 3402 - 28/04/2026 21:17:41    2669637

Link