Tralee's Na Gaeil Become Victims Of Odd Kerry Club Championship Quirk

When it comes to complicated club championship formats around the country, there is no doubt that Kerry is right at the very top of the list. The county have a thriving club scene, one that features quite a few different competitions.

There are two senior football championships in Kerry. The first, the Kerry Club Football Championship, features the genuine senior clubs in the county.

The Kerry Senior Football Championship features those clubs, as well as the divisional teams made up of all the clubs that play below the senior grade. That is the competition that sees the likes of David Clifford play for amalgamated teams, as well as his own club Fossa in the intermediate ranks.

While the Kerry system is complicated enough at the best of the times, some changes made to the structure made for 2025 has resulted in another odd quirk.

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The Kerry Club Football Championship is currently underway, with the group stages already complete.

In a change from past editions, this year's competition has seen nine clubs take part, as opposed to the previous eight. That has meant a rather odd start to the knockout stages this time around.

Tralee club Na Gaeil would have the best record in the group stages, powered on by the likes Jack Barry, Stefan Okunbor, Diarmuid O'Connor. Despite this, two other clubs have been rewarded with a semi-final spot ahead of them.

How does that happen? It all comes down to that switch to a nine-team championship.

Previous championships featured two groups of four, followed by semi-finals and a final. The addition of another club has complicated the format somewhat.

With the Kerry county board are aiming to eventually extend the competition to ten clubs in 2026, there was no relegated side last year to swap places with intermediate champions Austin Stacks.

In this year's competition, the round robin stages were made up of three groups of three teams. That made sorting a knockout line-up a more difficult task.

The end result saw two of the group winners advance to the semi-finals, while the other group winner would join the three second-placed sides in the quarter-finals.

That has resulted in an odd quirk in this year's format.

Na Gaeil had the best record in the round robin, winning both of their group games. Dr Crokes also topped their group with two wins (but had a worse scoring difference than Na Gaeil), while Kenmare Shamrocks would top the final group with three points.

The two semi-finalists were then decided by a random draw. Despite Na Gaeil having more points than Kenmare Shamrocks and higher scoring difference than Dr Crokes, they would miss out and end up in the quarter-finals.

Na Gaeil are now set for a knockout clash with Dingle this weekend. Austin Stacks will face Rathmore in the other quarter-final.

This odd quirk of the Kerry Club Football Championship will not be repeated in 2026. Ten clubs will take part in the competition next year, with the intermediate champions joining the nine clubs already part of the competition.

Na Gaeil were just unfortunate to be the victims of a one-year blip this time around.