All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, after the main sponsor, also often referred to as the Bank of Ireland Football Championship. Has been the annual discharged main competition in Gaelic football and is organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA). The games take place in the period from May to September. The finale, called All-Ireland Final, is the third or fourth Sunday in September in Croke Park in Dublin instead. The winner receives the Sam Maguire Cup.
Competition mode
At the Championship Selections teams from 31 of the 32 counties participate in Ireland. Only Kilkenny does not participate. The Irish abroad are represented by one each team from London and New York. The championship will be played in KO system. When a game ends in a tie, there is a replay on the opponent's court that is played up to the decision. First held regional championships in the four provinces of Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht (including London and New York). The respective master is directly qualified for the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Championship. The in the knockout rounds excreted at a regional level teams do not have a second chance to qualify for the quarter-finals.
This qualification round of the eliminated teams works as follows:
- Round 1: On this round take all counties (except New York) some who could not qualify for the semifinals of their province itself. There are a total of 16 teams.
- Round 2: In this round the eight winners from Round 1 and the eight losers in the provincial semi-finals take place.
- Round 3: The participants are the eight winners from Round 2
- Round 4: The four losers of the province Finals playing against the four winners from Round 3
Then each province Master a winner of Round 4 in the quarter- finals will be drawn. This is followed by semi-finals and final. This system was introduced in 2001 to allow more games, but still retain the KO system and the provincial championships. Before there were only the four provincial championships, the winners contested the semi-finals and finals.
The previous winners
The championship has been held since 1887. So far, 19 counties were entered in the list of winners. The most successful teams come from the provinces of Leinster and Munster. Record winner is Kerry Munster with 36 titles.
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