National Football League (Ireland)

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For other uses of "National Football League", see National Football League (disambiguation).

For current information on this topic, see
National Football League (Ireland) 2008

**National Football League**
Sponsors	Allianz
Trophy	New Ireland Cup
First played	1925 - 1926
First winner	Laois
Current Champions	Derry (6^th win)
Most Wins	Kerry (18 wins)

For the latest competition see: 2008 or the Hurling equivalent: 2008

The National Football League (known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Football League) is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company.

1 History
2 Division Placings for 2009 Season
3 Previous Winners
4 Performance by County
5 External links

[edit] History

Down and Galway in action in the 1965 National League semi-final

The NFL was first held in 1925-1926, 38 years after the first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, with Laois being the first winners. The League has traditionally played second fiddle to the All-Ireland, with most counties using it as a warm-up for the All-Ireland. This was not helped by the fact that the League was played in winter (November-March usually) while the championship had the more attractive summer dates and knockout structure.

In 2002 the league was changed to a February-April calendar, which has increased interest with attendances growing and live games broadcast on TG4. The 2007 season will be broadcast live on Setanta Sports.

The National Football League winners receive the Irish National Insurance Cup. It was first presented in 1929 to Kerry. Kerry are the most successful team in the League playing in the final 22 times and winning it 18 times, both of which are records. They also are the team that most often won the "double" (winning both the League and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship).

[edit] Division Placings for 2009 Season

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Division 4

[edit] Previous Winners

Team name in blue indicates the county also won the All-Ireland that year. The NFL is in general a poor prediction of summer form: only 23% (17 / 74) of League winners have gone on to win the All-Ireland. However, since the re-formatting of the competition in 2002, the winner of the national league has gone on to win the All-Ireland in 3 out of 4 occasions, Tyrone in 2003 and Kerry twice in 2004 and again in 2006.

1925-26 - Laois 2-1 Dublin 1-0
1926-27 - No League
1927-28 - Kerry 2-4 Kildare 1-6
1928-29 - Kerry 1-7 Kildare 2-3
1929-30 - No League
1930-31 - Kerry 1-3 Cavan 1-2
1931-32 - Kerry 5-2 Cork 3-3
1932-33 - Meath 0-10 Cavan 1-6
1933-34 - Mayo 2-4 Dublin 1-5
1934-35 - Mayo 5-8 Fermanagh 0-2
1935-36 - Mayo were champions with 12 points from eight games
1936-37 - Mayo 5-4 Meath 1-8
1937-38 - Mayo 3-9 Wexford 1-3
1938-39 - Mayo 5-9 Meath 0-6
1939-40 - Galway 2-5 Meath 1-5
1940-41 - Mayo 3-7 Dublin 0-7
1941-42 - National Leagues suspended
1942-43 - National Leagues suspended
1943-44 - National Leagues suspended
1944-45 - National Leagues suspended
1945-46 - Meath 2-2 Wexford 0-6
1946-47 - Derry 2-9 Clare 2-5
1947-48 - Cavan 5-9 Cork 2-8 (replay)
1948-49 - Mayo 1-8 Louth 1-6
1949-50 - Cavan 2-8 Meath 1-6
1950-51 - Meath 0-6 Mayo 0-3
1951-52 - Cork 2-3 Dublin 1-5
1952-53 - Dublin 4-6 Cavan 0-9
1953-54 - Mayo 2-10 Carlow 0-3
1954-55 - Dublin 2-12 Meath 1-3
1955-56 - Cork 0-8 Meath 0-7
1956-57 - Galway 1-8 Kerry 0-6
1957-58 - Dublin 3-13 Kildare 3-8
1958-59 - Kerry 2-8 Derry 1-8
1959-60 - Down 0-12 Cavan 0-9
1960-61 - Kerry 4-16 Derry 1-5
1961-62 - Down 2-5 Dublin 1-7
1962-63 - Kerry 0-9 Down 1-5
1963-64 - Dublin 2-9 Down 0-7
1964-65 - Galway 1-7 Kerry 0-8
1965-66 - Longford 0-9 Galway 0-8
1966-67 - Galway 0-12 Dublin 1-7
1967-68 - Down 2-14 Kildare 2-11
1968-69 - Kerry 3-11 Offaly 0-8
1969-70 - Mayo 4-7 Down 0-10
1970-71 - Kerry 0-11 Mayo 0-8
1971-72 - Kerry 2-11 Mayo 1-9
1972-73 - Kerry 2-12 Offaly 0-14
1973-74 - Kerry 0-14 Roscommon 0-8 (replay)
1974-75 - Meath 0-16 Dublin 1-9
1975-76 - Dublin 2-10 Derry 0-15
1976-77 - Kerry 1-8 Dublin 1-6
1977-78 - Dublin 2-18 Mayo 2-13
1978-79 - Roscommon 0-15 Cork 1-3
1979-80 - Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-10
1980-81 - Galway 1-11 Roscommon 1-3
1981-82 - Kerry 1-9 Cork 0-5 (replay)
1982-83 - Down 1-8 Armagh 0-8
1983-84 - Kerry 1-11 Galway 0-11
1984-85 - Monaghan 1-11 Armagh 0-9
1985-86 - Laois 2-6 Monaghan 2-5
1986-87 - Dublin 1-11 Kerry 0-11
1987-88 - Meath 2-13 Dublin 0-11 (replay)
1988-89 - Cork 0-15 Dublin 0-12
1989-90 - Meath 2-7 Down 0-11
1990-91 - Dublin 1-9 Kildare 0-10
1991-92 - Derry 1-10 Tyrone 1-8
1992-93 - Dublin 0-10 Donegal 0-6 (replay)
1993-94 - Meath 2-11 Armagh 0-8
1994-95 - Derry 0-12 Donegal 0-8
1995-96 - Derry 1-16 Donegal 1-9
1996-97 - Kerry 3-7 Cork 1-8
1997-98 - Offaly 0-9 Derry 0-7
1998-99 - Cork 0-12 Dublin 1-7
1999-2000 - Derry 1-8 Meath 0-9
2000-01 - Mayo 0-13 Galway 0-12
2002 - Tyrone 0-15 Cavan 0-7
2003 - Tyrone 0-21 Laois 1-8
2004 - Kerry 3-11 Galway 1-16
2005 - Armagh 1-21 Wexford 1-14
2006 - Kerry 2-11 Galway 0-11
2007 - Donegal 0-13 Mayo 0-10
2008 - Derry 2-13 Kerry 2-09

[edit] Performance by County

County	Winners	Runners-up	Winning Years
Kerry	18	4	1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1959,1961, 1963, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1997, 2004, 2006
Mayo	11	4	1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1949, 1954, 1970, 2001
Dublin	9	11	1953, 1955, 1958, 1964, 1976, 1978, 1987, 1991, 1993
Meath	7	9	1933, 1946, 1951, 1975, 1988, 1990, 1994
Derry	6	4	1947, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2008
Cork	5	5	1952, 1956, 1980, 1989, 1999
Down	4	4	1960, 1962, 1968, 1983
Galway	4	5	1957, 1965, 1967, 1981
Laois	2	1	1926, 1986
Cavan	2	5	1948, 1950
Tyrone	2	1	2002, 2003
Armagh	1	3	2005
Longford	1	0	1966
Monaghan	1	1	1985
Roscommon	1	2	1979
Offaly	1	2	1998
Donegal	1	3	2007