2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Championship details
Dates	6 May – 2 September 2018
Teams	33
All-Ireland Champions
Provincial Champions
Championship statistics
← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is the 131st edition of the GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football competition since its establishment in 1887.

Thirty-three teams are taking part – thirty-one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland (Kilkenny, as in previous years, did not enter), London and New York.

Format

Provincial Championships format

Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organise a provincial championship. All teams who lose a match in their provincial championship (with the exception of New York) enter the All-Ireland qualifiers. All provincial matches are knock-out.

Qualifiers format

Twenty eight of the twenty nine teams beaten in the provincial championships enter the All-Ireland qualifiers, which have a single-game knockout format. Sixteen of the seventeen teams (New York do not enter the qualifiers) eliminated before their provincial semi-finals play eight matches in round 1, with the winners of these games playing the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2. The eight winning teams from round 2 play-off against each other in round 3, with the four winning teams facing the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4 to complete the double-elimination format. Further details of the format are included with each qualifier round listed below.

All-Ireland format

Significant changes to the format of the All-Ireland championship were passed at the GAA's Annual Congress in February 2017 and implemented in the 2018 championship. The major change was the creation of the All-Ireland Super 8's (officially referred to as the All-Ireland Quarter-Final Group Stage), which replaced the knockout quarter-finals. The eight remaining teams in the Championship are split into two groups of four teams. One group features the Connacht champions, Munster champions, Leinster runners-up (or the team that defeats them in the qualifiers) and Ulster runners-up (or the team that defeats them in the qualifiers). The reverse is employed for the other group, which features the Leinster champions, Ulster champions, Connacht runners-up (or the team that defeats them in the qualifiers) and Munster runners-up (or team that defeats them in the qualifiers).

The top two teams in each of the two Super 8 groups advance to the semi-finals, with the winners of those matches meeting in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. The All-Ireland final was initially scheduled for 26 August 2018 but was moved to 2 September 2018 to avoid clashing with Pope Francis's visit to Ireland.

A number of former players have publicly criticised the new format as they believe it will result in the same top county teams regularly playing at least three high-profile matches in July and August while the remaining teams are without competitive football until the end of December, thereby enabling the top teams to become even more elite. Prominent sportswriter and RTÉ Sport analyst Joe Brolly referred to the new system as the "Super 8/Crap 25". The changes will be trialled for three years before being reviewed by the GAA in late 2020.

Changes from 2017 championship

Rules

• From 1 January 2018 the kickout must travel beyond the 20 metre line. Previously the players had to be outside the 20 metre line before the kickout was taken but could run inside to collect possession. The referee throws the ball up on the 20 metre line between a member of each team if the rule is breached by the team taking the kickout.
• Replays will only be held for drawn provincial finals and All-Ireland finals, with extra time to be played in all other championship matches except the Super 8 group matches. Initially two periods of ten minutes each way are played; if the score is still level two further periods of five minutes each way are played; if the score is still level, a free-taking competition is held until a winner is determined.
• The A and B split system for the qualifier draws introduced in 2014 has been discontinued.

Referees' Interpretation

• Players who enter a situation involving two players and cause a melee will receive red cards. Willie Barret, Referees Development Chairman, said "We would be particularly honing in on the first and second person in to the melee after the initial two players have been involved."

Provincial Championships

Connacht Championship

Main article: 2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship

The county teams from Connacht play London and New York on a rotational basis. The match involving New York became a quarter-final in 2018, having been a preliminary game in the previous three years.

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	New York		1-15
	Leitrim (a.e.t.)		0-19			Leitrim		0-10
						Roscommon		0-24
											Roscommon		2-06
	London		1-11								Galway		0-16
	Sligo		1-21			Sligo		1-12
	Mayo		0-12			Galway		4-24
	Galway		1-12

Roscommon v Semi-Final Winner

RTÉ

17 June 2018 16:00 Connacht Final

Roscommon	v	Semi-Final Winner

Leinster Championship

Main article: 2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship

The four teams in the previous year's semi-finals were given byes to the quarter-finals. Six of the seven remaining teams play off in the first round with the seventh team receiving a bye to the quarter-finals.

	First round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
						Westmeath		1-12
	Laois (a.e.t.)		2-21			Laois		4-13
	Wexford		1-18								Laois		0-12
											Carlow		0-8
						Kildare		1-10
	Louth		0-12			Carlow		2-14
	Carlow		2-17													Laois		0-10
																Dublin		1-25
						Dublin		4-25
	Offaly		1-15			Wicklow		1-11
	Wicklow (a.e.t.)		1-20								Dublin		2-25
											Longford		0-12
						Meath		0-14
						Longford		0-16

Semi-final winner v Semi-final winner

RTÉ

24 June 2018 4:00pm Leinster Final

Semi-final winner	v	Semi-final winner

Croke Park, Dublin

Munster Championship

Main article: 2018 Munster Senior Football Championship

The two teams who won the semi-finals in the previous year were given byes to the semi-finals.

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	Tipperary		0-20
	Waterford		0-9			Tipperary		0-9
						Cork		1-17
											Cork		2-4
											Kerry		3-18
						Kerry		0-32
	Limerick		0-14			Clare		0-10
	Clare		1-22

Cork v Semi-Final Winner

RTÉ

23 June 2018 7:00pm Munster Final

Cork	v	Semi-Final Winner

TBC

Ulster Championship

Main article: 2018 Ulster Senior Football Championship

All nine teams are drawn randomly without conditions to determine the fixtures.

	Preliminary round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
						Fermanagh		0-12
						Armagh		0-7
											Fermanagh		1-8
											Monaghan		0-10
						Tyrone		1-16
						Monaghan		1-18
																Fermanagh		0-12
																Donegal		2-18
						Down		1-18
						Antrim		0-14
											Down		1-12
											Donegal		2-22
						Derry		0-16
	Donegal		2-20			Donegal		2-16
	Cavan		1-15

Semi-Final Winner v Semi-Final Winner

RTÉ

24 June 2018 2:00pm Ulster Final

Semi-Final Winner	v	Semi-Final Winner

St. Tiernach's Park, Clones

All-Ireland Qualifiers

Qualifiers Format

The A and B split system for the qualifier draws introduced in 2014 was discontinued after 2017. In rounds one to three, teams from divisions three and four of the National Football League have home advantage if drawn against teams from divisions one or two. All matches are knockout.

Initial Schedule

Qualifiers Round 1: 9 June 2018
Qualifiers Round 2: 23 June 2018
Qualifiers Round 3: 30 June 2018
Qualifiers Round 4: 7 & 8 July 2018

Qualifiers Round 1

In the first round, sixteen of the seventeen teams beaten in the preliminary rounds or quarter-finals of the provincial championships compete. New York does not enter the qualifiers. The round 1 draw is unrestricted − if two teams have played each other in a provincial match they can be drawn to meet again. The eight winners of these matches play the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2 of the qualifiers. The draw was conducted on 28 May 2018.

The following teams take part in round 1:

Connacht (2/2)

London
Mayo

Leinster (7/7)

Kildare
Louth
Meath
Offaly
Westmeath
Wexford
Wicklow

Munster (2/2)

Limerick
Waterford

Ulster (5/5)

Antrim
Armagh
Cavan
Derry
Tyrone

Wexford v Waterford

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Wexford	v	Waterford	Innovate Wexford Park
14:00 IST (UTC+1)				Venue: Wexford

Derry v Kildare

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Derry	v	Kildare	Owenbeg
15:00 IST (UTC+1)

Meath v Tyrone

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Meath	v	Tyrone	Navan
				Venue: Páirc Tailteann

Wicklow v Cavan

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Wicklow	v	Cavan	Aughrim County Ground
18:00 IST (UTC+1)				Venue: Aughrim, County Wicklow

Offaly v Antrim

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Offaly	v	Antrim	Bord Na Mona O'Connor Park
18:00 IST (UTC+1)				Venue: Tullamore

Limerick v Mayo

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Limerick	v	Mayo	Gaelic Grounds
18:00 IST (UTC+1)				Venue: Limerick

Westmeath v Armagh

9 June 2018 (2018-06-09) Round 1	Westmeath	v	Armagh	TEG Cusack Park
18:00 IST (UTC+1)				Venue: Mullingar

London v Louth

10 June 2018 (2018-06-10) Round 1	London	v	Louth	McGovern Park
14:00 IST (UTC+1)				Venue: South Ruislip

Qualifiers Round 2

In the second round, the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists play the eight winning teams from round 1 of the qualifiers. The round 2 draw is unrestricted − if two teams have played each other in a provincial match they can be drawn to meet again. The eight winners of these matches play each other in round 3.

The following teams take part in round 2 –

Round 1 Winners (8)

Beaten Provincial Semi-Finalists (8)

Leitrim
Tipperary

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

v

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23) Round 2		v

Qualifiers Round 3

In the third round, the eight winning teams from round 2 play off in four matches. Round 3 draw rules do not allow two teams that have played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing can be avoided. The four winners of these matches play the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4.

The following teams take part in round 3 –

Round 2 Winners (8)

v

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30) Round 3		v

v

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30) Round 3		v

v

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30) Round 3		v

v

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30) Round 3		v

Qualifiers Round 4

In the fourth round, the four beaten provincial finalists play the four winning teams from round 3 of the qualifiers. Round 4 draw rules do not allow two teams that have played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing can be avoided. The matches are normally held in neutral venues. The four winners of these matches play in the round robin All Ireland Super 8.

The following teams take part in round 4 –

Round 3 Winners (4)

Beaten Provincial Finalists (4)

v

7/8 July 2018 (2018-07) Round 4		v

v

7/8 July 2018 (2018-07) Round 4		v

v

7/8 July 2018 (2018-07) Round 4		v

v

7/8 July 2018 (2018-07) Round 4		v

All-Ireland

All-Ireland Quarter-Final Group Stage

The four provincial champions and the four winning teams from round four of the All-Ireland qualifiers compete in two groups of four teams during the months of July and August. Each group consists of two provincial champions and the two beaten finalists of the other two provinces or the team that beats them in round four of the qualifiers.

In the first round of fixtures in each group, the two provincial champions meet and the two qualifiers meet in Croke Park. In rounds two and three, each team has one home game and one away game (Dublin, if they qualify, will also play their home game at Croke Park). Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw.

The top two teams in each group advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.

Tie-breaker

If only two teams are level on group 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 group games) is used to rank the teams
• If score difference is identical, total scored is used to rank the teams
• If still identical, a play-off is required

If three or more teams are level on group points, score difference is used to rank the teams.

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Munster provincial winner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to semi-finals
2	Connacht provincial winner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Ulster runner-up, or team that defeats them in Round 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Leinster runner-up, or team that defeats them in Round 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 14/15 July 2018. Source:

Team 1 v Team 2

14/15 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 1	Team 1	v	Team 2	Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Team 3 v Team 4

14/15 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 1	Team 3	v	Team 4	Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Team 4 v Team 1

21/22 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 2	Team 4	v	Team 1

Team 3 v Team 2

21/22 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 2	Team 3	v	Team 2

Team 1 v Team 3

4/5/6 August 2018 (2018-08) Phase 3	Team 1	v	Team 3

Team 2 v Team 4

4/5/6 August 2018 (2018-08) Phase 3	Team 2	v	Team 4

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ulster provincial winner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to semi-finals
2	Leinster provincial winner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Munster runner-up, or team that defeats them in Round 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Connacht runner-up, or team that defeats them in Round 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 14/15 July 2018. Source:

Team 1 v Team 2

14/15 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 1	Team 1	v	Team 2	Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Team 3 v Team 4

14/15 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 1	Team 3	v	Team 4	Dublin
				Venue: Croke Park

Team 4 v Team 1

21/22 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 2	Team 4	v	Team 1

Team 3 v Team 2

21/22 July 2018 (2018-07) Phase 2	Team 3	v	Team 2

Team 1 v Team 3

4/5/6 August 2018 (2018-08) Phase 3	Team 1	v	Team 3

Team 2 v Team 4

4/5/6 August 2018 (2018-08) Phase 3	Team 2	v	Team 4

All-Ireland Semi-Finals

The winners of Group 1 play the runners-up of Group 2 and the winners of Group 2 play the runners-up of Group 1.

Winner Group 1 v Runner-Up Group 2

RTÉ Sky Sports

11/12 August 2018 (2018-08) Semi-Final 1

Winner Group 1	v	Runner-Up Group 2

Croke Park, Dublin

Winner Group 2 v Runner-Up Group 1

RTÉ Sky Sports

11/12 August 2018 (2018-08) Semi-Final 2

Winner Group 2	v	Runner-Up Group 1

Croke Park, Dublin

All-Ireland Final

The final was initially planned for 26 August 2018. It was rescheduled to 2 September 2018 to avoid a clash with the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland.

Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2

RTÉ Sky Sports

2 September 2018 (2018-09-02) Final

Winner SF 1	v	Winner SF 2

Croke Park, Dublin

Stadia and locations

Each team has a nominal home stadium, though not all teams are guaranteed a home game over the course of the Championship. In addition, games may be played at a neutral or alternate venue. For example, Dublin have not played a Championship game in Parnell Park, their nominal home, since the 2004 Championship.

Team	Location	Stadium	Stadium capacity
Antrim	Belfast	Casement Park	32,500
Armagh	Armagh	Athletic Grounds	19,500
Carlow	Carlow	Dr. Cullen Park	21,000
Cavan	Cavan	Breffni Park	32,000
Clare	Ennis	Cusack Park	14,864
Cork	Cork	Páirc Uí Chaoimh	45,000
Derry	Derry	Celtic Park	22,000
Donegal	Ballybofey	MacCumhail Park	18,000
Down	Newry	Páirc Esler	25,000
Dublin	Dublin	Parnell Park	12,000
Fermanagh	Enniskillen	Brewster Park	20,000
Galway	Galway	Pearse Stadium	26,197
Kerry	Killarney	Fitzgerald Stadium	43,180
Kildare	Newbridge	St. Conleth's Park	6,200
Laois	Portlaoise	O'Moore Park	27,000
Leitrim	Carrick-on-Shannon	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada	9,331
Limerick	Limerick	Gaelic Grounds	49,866

Team	Location	Stadium	Stadium capacity
London	Ruislip	McGovern Park	5,000
Longford	Longford	Pearse Park	10,000
Louth	Drogheda	Drogheda Park	7,000
Mayo	Castlebar	MacHale Park	42,000
Meath	Navan	Páirc Tailteann	10,000
Monaghan	Clones	St. Tiernach's Park	36,000
New York	Kingsbridge	Gaelic Park	2,000
Offaly	Tullamore	O'Connor Park	20,000
Roscommon	Roscommon	Dr. Hyde Park	25,000
Sligo	Sligo	Markievicz Park	18,558
Tipperary	Thurles	Semple Stadium	53,500
Tyrone	Omagh	Healy Park	26,500
Waterford	Waterford	Walsh Park	17,000
Westmeath	Mullingar	Cusack Park	11,000
Wexford	Wexford	Wexford Park	20,000
Wicklow	Aughrim	Aughrim County Ground	10,000

Championship Statistics

• All scores correct as of 29 May 2018

Top Scorer: Overall

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Paul Broderick	Carlow	1-19	22	2	11
2	Liam McGrath	Tipperary	0-14	14	2	7
	Paul Kinsgston	Laois	3-05	14	2	7
4	Patrick McBrearty	Donegal	0-12	12	2	6
5	Luke Connolly	Cork	0-10	10	1	10
	Ciaran Kilkenny	Dublin	1-07	10	1	10
	Donal Kingston	Laois	1-07	10	2	5
8	Keith Beirne	Leitrim	0-09	9	2	4.5
9	Donal Shanley	Wexford	0-09	9	1	9
	Mark Jackson	Wicklow	0-09	9	2	4.5
	Adrian Marren	Sligo	1-06	9	1	9
	Emmet Bradley	Derry	0-08	8	1	8

Top Scorer: Single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Paul Broderick	Carlow	0-11	11	Kildare
	Paul Broderick	Carlow	1-08	11	Louth
	Paul Kinsgston	Laois	3-02	11	Westmeath
4	Luke Connolly	Cork	0-10	10	Tipperary
	Ciaran Kilkenny	Dublin	1-07	10	Wicklow
6	Liam McGrath	Tipperary	0-09	9	Waterford
	Donal Shanley	Wexford	0-09	9	Laois
	Donal Kingston	Laois	1-06	9	Wexford
	Adrian Marren	Sligo	1-06	9	London

Scoring Events

• Widest winning margin: 23
  • Wicklow 1-11 – 4-25 Dublin (Leinster SFC)
• Most goals in a match: 5
  • Wicklow 1-11 – 4-25 Dublin (Leinster SFC)
  • Laois 4-13 – 1-12 Westmeath (Leinster SFC)
• Most points in a match: 39
  • Wexford 1-18 – 2-21 Laois (Leinster SFC)
• Most goals by one team in a match: 4
  • Wicklow 1-11 – 4-25 Dublin (Leinster SFC)
  • Laois 4-13 – 1-12 Westmeath (Leinster SFC)
• Highest aggregate score: 51 points
  • Wicklow 1-11 – 4-25 Dublin (Leinster SFC)
• Lowest aggregate score: 19 points
  • Fermanagh 0-12 – 0-07 Armagh (Ulster SFC)

Miscellaneous

• Fermanagh beat Armagh in the Ulster championship for the first time since 1966.
• Carlow beat Kildare in the Leinster championship for the first time since 1953 on the same stage at the Quarter-finals, Dublin played Wicklow for the first time since 1990, Longford played Meath for the first time since 1995 and beat them for the first time since 1982 while Laois played Westmeath for the first time since 2004.

Live Gaelic Football On TV

RTÉ, the national broadcaster in Ireland, provide the majority of the live television coverage of the football championship in the second year of a five-year deal running from 2017 until 2021. Sky Sports also broadcast a number of matches and have exclusive rights to a number of games including some All-Ireland super 8 matches. BBC Northern Ireland will also show games from the Ulster Championship: at least two live, while other games are shown in their entirety at a later time.

Live Football On TV Schedule
Date	Fixture & Match Details	Broadcaster
Provincial and Qualifier Matches
13 May	Mayo v Galway Connacht Quarter-Final	RTÉ
3 June	Monaghan v Fermanagh Ulster Semi-Final	BBC NI RTÉ
10 June	Dublin v Longford Leinster Semi-Final	RTÉ
17 June	Connacht Final	RTÉ
23 June	Qualifiers Round 2	Sky Sports
23 June	Munster Final	RTÉ
24 June	Ulster Final	BBC NI RTÉ
24 June	Leinster Final	RTÉ
30 June	Qualifiers Round 3	Sky Sports
30 June	Qualifiers Round 3	Sky Sports
07 July	Qualifiers Round 4	Sky Sports
07 July	Qualifiers Round 4	Sky Sports
08 July	Qualifiers Round 4	RTÉ
Quarter-Final Group Stage
14 July	Phase 1	Sky Sports
14 July	Phase 1	RTÉ
15 July	Phase 1	RTÉ TBC
15 July	Phase 1	RTÉ TBC
21 July	Phase 2	Sky Sports
21 July	Phase 2	Sky Sports
22 July	Phase 2	RTÉ
22 July	Phase 2	RTÉ
04 August	Phase 3	Sky Sports
04 August	Phase 3	Sky Sports
05 August	Phase 3	RTÉ
Knockout Stage
All-Ireland Semi-Finals
11 August		RTÉ Sky Sports
12 August		RTÉ Sky Sports
All-Ireland Football Final
2 September		RTÉ Sky Sports

Referees Panel

Ciaran Branagan (An Dún)
Barry Cassidy (Doire)
David Coldrick (An Mhí)
Niall Cullen (Fear Manach)
Maurice Deegan (Laois)
David Gough (An Mhí)
Jerome Henry (Maigh Eo)
Padraig Hughes (Ard Mhacha)
Sean Hurson (Tír Eoghan)
Fergal Kelly (An Longfort)
Conor Lane (Corcaigh)
Martin McNally (Muineachán)
Joe McQuillan (An Cabhán)
Noel Mooney (An Cabhán)
Paddy Neilan (Ros Comáin)
Anthony Nolan (Cill Mhantáin)
Derek O'Mahony (Tiobraid Árann)
Cormac Reilly (An Mhí)