At the GAA's Annual Congress in Donegal in 2025, delegates approved a motion to revise the structure of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship from 2026 onwards. Under Motion 19, the championship will feature 16 teams: • The four provincial champions • The four beaten provincial finalists • The
2025 Tailteann Cup winner (
Kildare) • The seven next-ranked teams, based on final position in the
2026 National Football League • Position is based on standings after
promotion and relegation are applied, and after finals are played; therefore, the top two teams in Division 2 outrank the bottom two teams in Division 1, and if the 2nd placed team in Division 2 wins the final, they are ranked above the 1st-place finisher who lost the final. The round-robin stage will be scrapped under the new format, moving to a modified
double-elimination tournament. Provincial champions and runners-up shall be seeded in the draw for Round One of the knockout stage and given home-field advantage. The sixteen games will be played over two separate weekends; the Munster and Connacht finalists will play in the first weekend, while the Ulster and Leinster finalists' ties will highlight the second weekend. The eight winners from Round One will move into Round 2A, while the eight losers will enter Round 2B. The winners of the four Round 2A ties will advance directly to the quarter-finals. The four Round 2A losers will meet the four Round 2B winners in Round 3 to decide the remaining quarter-finalists. All fixtures in Rounds 2 and 3 will be determined via semi-open draw; the team picked first will play at home and a re-draw or fixture swap will occur if a selected tie is a rematch of a provincial final or Round 1 matchup. The draw for the competition took place on 27 November 2025. == Teams ==