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GAA Allianz League: Preview
We're going to take a look at the upcoming Allianz League season - who's playing, what it means for the teams and which games you should look out for.
It’s that time of year again. The Club Championships have wrapped up and in their place enters the Allianz League.
Who is in the Allianz League
The Allianz League spans both football and hurling. The football league is divided into four divisions and the hurling league into five. All counties participate in the Allianz, with the exception of Kilkenny in football. 3 English teams also participate: London in football and hurling, and Lancashire and Warwickshire in hurling.
Football
Roinn 1
Armagh, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon
Roinn 2
Cavan, Cork, Derry, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Tyrone
Roinn 3
Clare, Down, Fermanagh, Laois, Limerick, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford
Roinn 4
Antrim, Carlow, Leitrim, London, Longford, Tipperary, Waterford, Wicklow
Hurling
Roinn 1A
Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford
Roinn 1B
Antrim, Carlow, Clare, Down, Dublin, Kildare, Wexford
Roinn 2
Derry, Kerry, Laois, London, Mayo, Meath, Westmeath
Roinn 3
Armagh, Donegal, Fermanagh, Louth, Roscommon, Tyrone, Wicklow
Roinn 4
Cavan, Lancashire, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Sligo, Warwickshire
What are the implications of the Allianz League?
The initial phase of the league sees each team place the other teams in their division. Once the teams have all played each other, the top two teams are entered into a final to determine the winner of each division, with the winner of Roinn 1 being crowned the League Champions.
Relegation and promotion exists in the Allianz League and the bottom teams in a division will be relegated to the division below them for the following year and are replaced by the two finalists from the division below.
The outcome of the Allianz League does not have any implications on the Provincial or All-Ireland Championships.
Feature Games
Naturally, most people will look through the fixture schedule and mark down the games their own county are playing. But we have bookmarked some of the early games we thought stood out when the fixture list came was released.
Dublin v Donegal – Football League Roinn 1 Round 1
Saturday 24 January | Croke Park, Dublin
The Allianz Football League kicks off with a bang as All-Ireland runners up Donegal return to the nation’s capital. The season opener sees them face Dublin in Croke Park. The game will be Ger Brennan’s first competitive outing as Dublin manager, and he will be thrown directly into the fire, having to go opposite Jim McGuinness.
The fixture will be the second game of a double-header to start the season, with Derry and Meath playing in the other feature game.
Tipperary v Galway – Hurling League Roinn 1A Round 1
Saturday 24 January | FBD Semple Stadium, Tipperary
Our pick of the bunch from the opening weekend of hurling is between two of the premiere teams in the sport. The Tribesmen travel down to Semple Stadium in the hope of enacting some revenge on Tipp. The Premier have come out on top in the pair’s last three meetings, most recently in last year’s All-Ireland Quarter Final.
As the saying goes, ‘New Year, New Me’ and Galway will be hoping to bring some of that energy into a classic hurling rivalry.
Galway v Mayo – Football League Roinn 1 Round 1
Sunday 25 January | Pearse Stadium, Galway
Nothing quite beats a local rivalry, and few come close to a Galway-Mayo game. The two sides will be as familiar with each other as opponents can get, having only played each other last week in the Connacht League Cup. Galway emerged victorious at the weekend in late and dramatic fashion. They have also won in the last two Connacht Finals between the pair, in 2024 and 2025.
However, one should never count out Mayo (unless it’s an All-Ireland Final, of course). It was only a last-minute free-kick that stopped a comeback from the Green and Red, and they’ll take confidence from keeping Galway scoreless for much of the second half.
Dublin v Kildare – Hurling League Roinn 1B Round 2
Saturday 31 January | Parnell Park, Dublin
Two teams coming off successful 2025 seasons meet at Parnell Park on 31 January. A Kildare side buoyed by their Joe McDonagh Cup victory will be taking on a new challenge as they find themselves in Roinn 1B. Their opponents on the day are a Dublin side that sent shockwaves through the hurling landscape by toppling Limerick in last year’s All-Ireland Quarter Finals.
Both sides will be coming into this one looking to prove that they belong with the top dogs in hurling. Add in some good old local rivalry spice and this one shapes up to be a classic.
Donegal v Kerry – Football League Roinn 1 Round 2
Sunday 1 February | Fr. Tierney Park, Donegal
The rematch we’ve been waiting for. The first game we circled on our calendars. The All-Ireland champions will make the not-so-insignificant journey up to Ballyshannon to face a Donegal team that will be out for revenge. Kerry put up a record high score for an All-Ireland Final in July and they show no signs of leaving that form in 2025.
Despite the advantage of playing at home, Jim McGuinness’ side faces what is probably the toughest test football has to offer: stopping the machine that is David Clifford, Sean O’Shea, and co.
Stay in the loop with the rest of the sporting action by checking out our Sports Guide.
