Mayo GAA reveal club football championship structure for 2026

Mayo GAA have confirmed the details of how the Senior, Intermediate, and Junior Club Football Championships will be run in 2026.

The details were shown to club delegates at the January meeting of the County Board in MacHale Park on Wednesday, January 28.

The first to be discussed was the Senior Championship.

Much of the structure remains the same. The competition will feature 16 sides, with the group stages consisting of four teams of four.

Last season's semi-finalists (Ballina Stephenites, Knockmore, Westport, and Crossmolina Deel Rovers) will all be seeded into separate groups when the draw is made.

The first and second-placed sides will advance to the quarter-finals, while the bottom-placed teams will head for the relegation play-offs, where one side will be relegated to Intermediate for 2027.

The same structure applies to the Intermediate grade. The four seeded sides will be the three semi-finalists from 2025 (Moy Davitts, Kiltane, and Ardnaree Sarsfields), as well as last season's side relegated from Senior, Ballyhaunis.

Motion Eight from the 2025 County Convention, which aimed to introduce a preliminary quarter-final, was rejected by the CCC, prompting queries from club delegates.

The Junior Championship will see one additional team added from the 2025 edition of the competition.

The group stages this season will consist of two groups of five and one group of four.

The Premier Junior Championships will consist of eight teams in Division One, and 16 sides in Divisions Two and Three.

The draw for the group stages, which will be divided into groups of four teams, will be unseeded. Clubs have until Sunday, February 15 to submit their 'B' or 'C' sides.

The Premier Junior Championships will start on the weekend of Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3.