How does the new 3 Tier Championship work?

The “Modern Season” format has a qualifier structure, which functions as follows:

Tier 1: There are 12 teams eligible to win the Tier 1 All-Ireland – Antrim, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford & Wexford. The Leinster champions and runners up plus the Munster champions and runners up qualify for the All-Ireland Quarter Finals. The remaining 8 take part in the Round Robin Qualifiers. The 8 teams are divided into 2 groups of 4, which are played on a league basis.

Each team plays 3 games against the teams in their group. The top 2 placed teams from each group qualify for the All-Ireland Quarter Finals. The bottom 2 sides in each group are eliminated but must battle to retain their Tier 1 status. These 4 teams take part in a relegation play-off, with one side to drop to Tier 2 for the following season. Firstly, 2 semi-finals are played, with the winners preserving their Tier 1 status and thus ending their season. The 2 losing sides must play with the winner staying “up” and the loser relegated to Tier 2. These teams’ seasons end at this point.

Tier 2: There are 10 teams eligible to win the Tier 2 trophy– Carlow, Derry, Down, Kerry, Kildare, Mayo, Meath, New York, Roscommon & Westmeath. The 10 teams are divided randomly into 2 groups of 5, which are played on a league basis. Each team plays 4 games against the teams in their group. The top 2 placed teams from each group qualify for the All-Ireland Semi Finals. The season ends at this point for the 3rd place teams in each group, with their Tier 2 status intact.

However, the bottom 2 sides in each group are eliminated but must battle to retain their Tier 2 status. These 4 teams take part in a relegation play-off, with one side to drop to Tier 3 for the following season. Firstly, 2 semi-finals are played, with the winners preserving their Tier 2 status and thus ending their season. The 2 losing sides must play with the winner staying “up” and the loser relegated to Tier 3. These teams’ seasons end at this point.

Tier 3 - There are 11 teams eligible to win the Tier 3 trophy– Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Monaghan, Sligo, Tyrone and Wicklow. This championship is played on a league basis. The 11 teams are divided randomly into 3 groups. Two of the groups have 4 teams and the 3rd group has only 3 teams. Each team plays 4 games against the teams in their group. The top team placed teams from each group qualify for the All-Ireland Semi Finals. The 2nd placed teams in the two groups of 4 play off for the 4th All-Ireland Semi Final spot. The season ends at this point for the all non-qualifying teams. No relegation exists.

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