Replying To legendzxix: "Croke Park, everyone and myself included are making it all unnecessarily complicated. 1. The All Ireland for many years was 4 qualifying rounds and 8 teams in the All Ireland series. - This just had to change to 2 qualifying rounds and 16 teams in the All Ireland series in whatever agreed format. 2. The Tommy Murphy Cup was a straight knockout of 8 or 9 counties. - The Tailteann Cup just needs to be a straight knockout after the qualifiers for the 16 or 17 missing out on the All Ireland. Winner qualifying for the All Ireland of the following year. Nothing more needs to be done."
"everyone.... unnecessarily complicated"? I suppose that includes me more than anyone else - despite my AILC being VERY "straight forward" :)
Seriously, 2 open draw rds - 1 at home, 1 away for each team - with single winners to PQFs and double winners to QFs, seems like probably the sweet spot for most support. It's similar to next year's; guarantees a home game for all; each game is meaningful; and not "unnecessarily complicated".
Replying To omahant: ""everyone.... unnecessarily complicated"? I suppose that includes me more than anyone else - despite my AILC being VERY "straight forward" :)
Seriously, 2 open draw rds - 1 at home, 1 away for each team - with single winners to PQFs and double winners to QFs, seems like probably the sweet spot for most support. It's similar to next year's; guarantees a home game for all; each game is meaningful; and not "unnecessarily complicated"."
GAA+ scheduled to show four Round 3 games. Where does that fit in within your plan?
Replying To omahant: ""everyone.... unnecessarily complicated"? I suppose that includes me more than anyone else - despite my AILC being VERY "straight forward" :)
Seriously, 2 open draw rds - 1 at home, 1 away for each team - with single winners to PQFs and double winners to QFs, seems like probably the sweet spot for most support. It's similar to next year's; guarantees a home game for all; each game is meaningful; and not "unnecessarily complicated"."
The All Ireland series went to 16 teams in 2023. A notable feature since has been the inequitable nature and spread of games for the various teams from the commencement of the 4 Provincial Championships. Teams reaching Provincial finals will have a nice even spread of games while teams losing in the early rounds will have an extended competitive game break. In extreme cases that can be up to 7 weeks as happened to Cork [2023] Westmeath [2024] and Derry [2025] Cork eventually in 2023 went on to reach the A.I Q.Fs. So their schedule after losing to Clare in the 1st round of the Munster Championship was no games for 7 weeks followed by a hectic schedule of 5 games in 6 weeks. Unfortunately the way Championship is set up there is no way around this as the A.I 16 does not commence until 1 or 2 weeks after the Provincial finals
A somewhat slightly different way of organizing the A.I. 16 would bring the maximum length of time a team losing early in the Provincials would have to wait for their next game down to 4 weeks .It would actually be less for most teams Still not ideal but an improvement on the way things currently stand.
The A.I 16 is divided into 2 sections. It consists of a combination of double elimination[ the 8 Provincial finalists] and groups[2] [the 8 other teams]
INTERPROS [ The 8 Provincial finalists] ROUND 1 4 Provincial winners v 4 Provincial runner ups [draw made after Provincial finals] ROUND 2A 4 round 1 winners 2 winners to A.I Q.F 2 losers to A.I P.Q.F [home] ROUND 2B 4 round 1 losers 2 winners to A.I P.Q.F [away] 2 losers are out
QUALIFIERS [8 non Provincial finalists] 2 groups of 4 teams[seeded based on league] What was pot 3 in this years draw would be pot 1. What was pot 4 in this years draw would be pot 2. 2 group winners to A.I Q.F 2 group 2nd to A.I .P.Q.F [home] 2 group 3nd to A.I P.Q.F [away]
The 2 groups[ or at least some of the games] commence on the completion of the Provincial S.Fs. Under this dual set up there is no longer a necessity for early Provincial losers to have wait around for the completion of these Championships .Going by the current football championship calendar these group games would have 7 weeks to be played over giving ample opportunity for well spread out games. This gives opportunity for more games to be televised [or screened] and gives both players/management and spectators alike some breathing space.
The Provincial finalists play a game less in the A.I 16 but their extra game is the Provincial final.
edu (Mayo) - Posts: 114 - 12/06/2025 21:06:54
2617046
In the 2026 format, if every championship round is one week later, after a week off between league finals and championship, this weekend instead of group stage Round 3 - 2025 will be Round 2A - 2026 and Round 2B - 2026. Round 2A of Round 1 winners: Kerry v Meath Monaghan v Down Armagh v Dublin Tyrone v Cavan Round 2B of Round 1 losers: (will mix up as no set groups) Roscommon v Clare Louth v Mayo Derry v Cork Donegal v Galway Donegal and Galway despite winning their provinces could be in a 2B battle for survival!
In my AILC, all teams play an equal 12-game (or 10, if preferred) mixed-quality set of fixtures (if 12, then 3 against each of 4 seeding pots), regardless of inclusion of playing 4 Ulster rds or 1 Munster rd etc. League-only games played concurrently with Prov KO Rds.
Replying To legendzxix: "In the 2026 format, if every championship round is one week later, after a week off between league finals and championship, this weekend instead of group stage Round 3 - 2025 will be Round 2A - 2026 and Round 2B - 2026. Round 2A of Round 1 winners: Kerry v Meath Monaghan v Down Armagh v Dublin Tyrone v Cavan Round 2B of Round 1 losers: (will mix up as no set groups) Roscommon v Clare Louth v Mayo Derry v Cork Donegal v Galway Donegal and Galway despite winning their provinces could be in a 2B battle for survival!"
Would be exciting - but maybe more so, drawing two initial rds (Rd 1 being an Open Draw, with all Home teams playing Away in Rd 2).