THE DRAWS HAVE been made for the 2025 provincial football championships, with an Ulster preliminary round clash between Donegal and Derry the standout tie.
This will see the reigning champions face the winners of 2022 and 2023. Derry were chasing a provincial three-in-a-row this season but were undone by Jim McGuinness’s outfit at the quarter-final stage.
Mayo and Galway have been kept on opposite sides of the draw in Connacht while Dublin begin their Leinster title defence at the quarter-final stage against either Wicklow or Longford.
Munster holders Kerry will begin their provincial campaign in the semi-final where Limerick or Cork await.
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In Connacht, defending champions Galway will travel to face New York in one quarter-final while London welcome Roscommon in Ruislip.
Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim were placed in the other draw, where a tie between Mayo and Sligo in quarter-final C emerged. This means Leitrim will go straight into a semi-final, where there will take on the winner of Mayo and Sligo in semi-final 1. Semi-Final 2 will be Galway/New York v London/Roscommon.
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The four semi-finalists from the 2024 Leinster SFC – Dublin, Louth, Offaly, and Kildare are straight through to the quarter final stage in 2025. Wicklow, Westmeath, Laois,
Carlow, Longford, Wexford, and Meath were placed in today’s draw to produce three first-round pairings.
As a result, Wexford were drawn against Laois, Carlow will take on Meath while Wicklow will face Longford in Round 1. Offaly will play the winners of Carlow and Meath, Dublin versus Wicklow/Longford and Louth will square off with either Wexford or Laois.
Westmeath were not drawn and will proceed directly to the quarter-finals, taking on Kildare.
The semi-finals are as follows:
Offaly/Carlow/Meath v Dublin/Wicklow/Longford and Kildare/Westmeath v Louth/Wexford/Laois
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The 2024 Munster finalists Kerry and Clare go straight through to the 2925 semi-finals next year. Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Tipperary will be in the draw for the two quarter-final ties. There was an open draw for the semi-finals between Kerry, Clare and the two quarter-final winners.
Following the draws, Waterford will play Tipperary with the winner facing Clare in the semi-final while Limerick will battle with Cork. The winner of that clash will play Kerry in the other final-four clash.
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Armagh, Antrim, Monaghan, and Cavan have all played in the Ulster SFC preliminary round fixtures in 2023 and 2024, meaning they cannot be involved at that stage in 2025. Two counties from Tyrone, Derry, Down, Donegal, and Fermanagh will feature in that game while the winner of the preliminary round fixture will join the remaining seven counties in the quarter-final stage.
Following the draw, it was revealed that defending Ulster champions Donegal will take on Derry in a mouthwatering preliminary-round tie. The quarter-finals will be: Antrim v Armagh, Tyrone v Cavan, Fermanagh v Down and Donegal/Derry v Monaghan.
The semi-finals are: Tyrone/Cavan v Antrim/Armagh and Donegal/Derry/Monaghan v Fermanagh/Down
