1996–97 National Football League (Ireland)
The 1996–97 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Church & General National Football League, was the 66th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
| League details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 October 1996 – 4 May 1997 |
| Teams | 33 |
| League champions | |
| Winners | Kerry (16th win) |
| Captain | Mike Hassett |
| Manager | Páidí Ó Sé |
| League runners-up | |
| Runners-up | Cork |
| Captain | Niall Cahalane |
| Manager | Larry Tompkins |
| Other division winners | |
| Division 2 | Louth |
| Division 3 | Down |
| Division 4 | Offaly |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
Format
editThe teams are in four divisions, three of 8 teams and one of 9. Each team plays all the other teams in its division once: either home or away. Teams earn 2 points for a winn and 1 for a draw. The top two teams in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 are promoted, while the bottom two teams in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 are relegated.[1]
Eight teams contest the NFL quarter-finals:
- The top 4 teams in Division 1
- The top 2 teams in Division 2
- The first-placed teams in Divisions 3 and 4
Promotion and relegation
editAt the point at which the league was played, promotion and relegation was to be as follows:
- Division One: bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Two
- Division Two: top 2 teams promoted to Division One. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Three.
- Division Three: top 2 teams promoted to Division Two. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Four.
- Division Four: top 2 teams promoted to Division Three.
After the season had finished, it was decided to move to a 'mixed-ability' league for a one-season experiment in the 1997–98 NFL season, which meant that there was no relegation or promotion in 1996–97.[2]
Results and tables
editDivision 1
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kildare
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Advance to Knockout stage |
 Kerry
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
 Derry
|
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Cork
|
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Tyrone | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Meath
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
 Cavan
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Donegal
|
7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Division 2
editPlay-Off
editDivision 2
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louth
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Advance to Knockout stage |
| Laois
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Laois advanced to Knock out stage as Division 2 Runner Up |
 Dublin
|
7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Leitrim
|
7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
 Armagh
|
7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
 Mayo
|
7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
 Clare
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
 Monaghan
|
7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
Division 3
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Down
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
 Roscommon
|
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wicklow
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
 Westmeath
|
7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| Galway
|
7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
 Antrim
|
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
| Longford
|
7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
 Sligo
|
7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Division 4
editKnockout stage
editQuarter-finals
edit| Cork | 1-12 - 0-11 | Louth |
|---|---|---|
| Corkery (1-7, 1pen, 4f), Corcoran (0-2), Dorgan (0-1), C. O'Sullivan (0-1), O. O'Sullivan (0-1) | Butterly (0-4), White (0-2, 1f), Curran (0-2), S. O'Hanlon (0-1), Kelly (0-1), Donaldson (0-1) |
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Semi-finals
editFinal
editReferences
edit- ^ "1996-7 Football League play-offs & Final". homepage.eircom.net.
- ^ O'Riordan, Tom, "New format turns league on its head", Irish Independent, 27 August 1997, p. 21
- ^ "1997".
- ^ "Corkery pulls right strings". Irish Times. 7 April 1997.
- ^ a b "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151
External links
edit
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