2025 National Football League (Ireland)

The 2025 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Football League, was the 94th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for county teams. Thirty-one county teams from Ireland, plus London, compete; New York do not participate in the National League, though they take part in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Kilkenny do not compete in senior football.

This was the first inter-county competition to feature the new Football Review Committee (FRC) rule changes adopted in 2024, including the two-point shot for scoring outside the 40-metre arc.

were the winners, becoming the first team to win the ''Corn Mhichíl Uí Mhuircheartaigh'', named for Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh.

Format

League structure

The 2025 National Football League consists of four divisions of eight teams. Each team plays every other team in its division once. Two points are awarded for a win, one point is awarded for a draw and none are awarded for a loss.

In the top division, Division 1, teams compete to become the National Football League (NFL) champions. The top two teams qualify for the NFL Final, with the winners crowned NFL champions.

Teams compete for promotion and relegation to a higher or lower league. In Divisions 2, 3 and 4, the first and second-places teams are promoted and play in the respective divisional finals, while the bottom two teams of divisions 1, 2 and 3 are relegated.

Tiebreakers for league ranking

As per the Official GAA Guide - Part 1 - Section 6.21:

If two teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:

# Where two teams only are involved - the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the previous game in the competition;

If three or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:

# Scoring difference (subtracting the total scores against from total scores for);
# Highest total score for;
# A play-off.

In the event that two teams or more finish with equal points, but have been affected by a disqualification, loss of game on a proven objection, retirement or walkover, the tie shall be decided by the following means:

# Score difference from the games in which only the teams involved (teams tied on points), have played each other. (subtracting the total scores against from total scores for)
# Highest total score for, in which only the teams involved, have played each other, and have finished equal in (i)
# A play-off.

Division 1

Table

Final

Division 2

Table

Final

Division 3

Table

Matches

On 15 March, one day before it was scheduled to be played in Ballinamore, Leitrim forfeited its Round 6 fixture against Fermanagh due to not having a full team available.

Final

Division 4

Table

Final

Incidents

Live on television, in the National League meeting of Armagh and Donegal at MacCumhaill Park, Armagh's 2024 All-Ireland SFC-winning captain Aidan Forker headbutted Michael Murphy in the 44th minute. This was within moments of Murphy's reintroduction (as a substitute) to inter-county football, and referee Sean Hurson sent Forker off. Forker's headbutt of Michael Murphy was widely compared to Zinedine Zidane's headbutt during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, though — unlike Zidane's opponent — Murphy stood firm and did not even move.

References

External links

"Glass half full – Derry midfielder's scoring surge"
RTÉ. 6 April 2025. Includes scoring statistics of various players for this competition.

{{GAA 2025, state=expanded

National Football League (Ireland) seasons