What does the new All-Ireland football format mean for John Cleary's Cork in 2023?

THE footballers of Cork, Clare, and Limerick will feel like they’re competing in a mini-series of their own in the 2023 inter-county season.

Apart from meeting in Division 2 of the national league, the trio are bracketed together in the Munster championship, with Cork facing Clare for the first time since 2015 and the winners taking on Limerick, last season’s runners-up, in the semi-final.

On the other side of the draw, All-Ireland champions Kerry await either Tipperary or Waterford in the semi-finals, quite underwhelming for all concerned.

Every team in the country has just one immediate target for the new season: Ensuring they’re one of the 16 counties contesting the Sam Maguire Cup, which has another, different format in the summer; otherwise, it’s the tier-two Tailteann Cup.

It’s known that Westmeath, who will be Division 3, have been allocated one of those 16 places, on the basis of winning the inaugural Tailteann Cup this season, and they will be joined by a lower league side, because of the lop-sided draw in Connacht.

One of Leitrim, London, or Sligo will make it to the final against either Galway, Mayo, or Roscommon, making a complete mockery of that provincial championship and by extension the All-Ireland, as well. New York, who meet Leitrim in the first round, don’t compete in the league and will take their place in the Tailteann Cup at that preliminary quarter-final stage.

It means one of the other three, who are in Division 4, will take their place in the hunt for the Sam Maguire, irrespective of the anticipated drubbing from one of the big boys in the decider up West.

The 16 teams will be divided into four pools of four, ensuring every county plays a minimum of three games.

The format is that each of the groups will have a provincial winner, who will enjoy home advantage first (Kerry-Leitrim will pack them into Killarney), as well as a runner-up from another province and two more teams based on league standings.

Every team will play a home, away, and neutral game, with the winners of the four sections qualifying for the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

The teams finishing second and third will go into a preliminary quarter-final draw, with the higher-ranked team at home.

For Cork manager John Cleary, the most direct route to the Sam Maguire is via the championship, presumably a trip to Cusack Park, in Ennis, on the basis that Clare travelled to Páirc Uí Rinn in 2015.

Victory there would set up a semi-final with Limerick. Last season, Cork won a qualifier by 2-18 to 1-16 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, having won a Munster championship tie the previous year at the Gaelic Grounds.

Preserving their Division 2 status in a very competitive league should also clinch a spot among the 16 teams.

Cork and Clare drew 1-13 apiece last season at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which means Cork will have to travel next time.

Leinster heavyweights Dublin, Kildare, and Meath, along with Ulster champions, Derry, and Mickey Harte’s Louth complete the division.

Cork just about survived in the section last season, a one-point win away to Offaly sending them packing to Division 3.

If a team double qualifies for the Sam Maguire Cup, it’s the championship that will count, meaning their league position will go to the next county down in the table.

MUNSTER: 

Quarter-finals: Cork v Clare, Tipperary v Waterford.

Semi-finals: Limerick v Cork or Clare, Kerry v Tipperary or Waterford.

LEINSTER:

Round 1: Longford v Offaly, Wicklow v Carlow, Wexford v Laois.

Quarter-finals: Kildare v Wicklow or Carlow, Dublin v Wexford or Laois, Meath v Longford or Offaly, Westmeath v Louth.

Semi-finals: Kildare or Wicklow or Carlow v Dublin or Wexford or Laois; Meath or Longford or Offaly v Westmeath or Louth.

CONNACHT:

Quarter-finals: New York v Leitrim, London v Sligo, Roscommon v Mayo.

Semi-finals: Galway v Roscommon or Mayo, London or Sligo v New York or Leitrim.

ULSTER:

Preliminary round: Armagh v Antrim.

Quarter-finals: Cavan v Armagh or Antrim, Fermanagh v Derry, Tyrone v Monaghan, Down v Donegal.

Semi-finals: Fermanagh or Derry v Tyrone or Monaghan, Down or Donegal v Cavan or Armagh or Antrim.