1996–97 National Football League (Ireland)

1996–97 National Football League
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 →

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.

Format[]

The 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[]

At 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[]

Division 1[]

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[]

Play-Off[]

31 March 1997 For 6th Place

Mayo

0-7 — 0-4

Clare

Tuam^[3]

Division 2[]

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[]

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[]

Offaly won, with Fermanagh finishing second.

Knockout stage[]

Quarter-finals[]

6 April 1997

Laois	4-10 – 1-13	Derry
Hugh Emerson 3 goals

6 April 1997

Kerry	1-18 – 0-10	Down

Dublin

7 April 1997

3:15 p.m.

Kildare	0-9 – 0-8	Offaly

Navan

6 April 1997

Cork	1-12 0-11	Louth

Portlaoise

Semi-finals[]

20 April 1997

Kerry	2-13 – 1-10	Laois

Croke Park, Dublin

21 April 1997

Cork	2-10 – 1-9	Kildare

Croke Park, Dublin

Final[]

4 May 1997

Kerry	3-7 – 1-8	Cork

Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork

Attendance: 28,795 ^[4]

Referee: Pat Casserly (Westmeath)^[4]

References[]

^ "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".
^ ^a ^b "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151

External links[]

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[1] "1996-7 Football League Play-Offs & Final". homepage.eircom.net.

[2] O'Riordan, Tom, "New format turns league on its head", Irish Independent, 27 August 1997, p. 21

[3] "1997".

[auto-4] "For The Record, A History of the National Football and Hurling League Finals", Tom Morrison, Collins Press, 2002, ISBN 9781903464151

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