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Draft:All-Britain Football Championship

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All-Britain Football Championship
Current season or competition:
2026 All-Britain Football Championship
CodeGaelic football
Founded1946; 80 years ago (1946)
Region United Kingdom (GAA)
No. of teams7
Title holders London (32nd title)
Most titles London (32 titles)
TV partner247.tv
Official websiteGaelic Games Council of Britain website

The All-Britain Football Championship is the Gaelic football provincial championship competition in Great Britain. The British county teams compete against each other in a straight knockout format, with the winner declared "All-Britain" champions, and both the winner and the runner-up qualifying for the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. Organised by the Provincial Council of Britain of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the championship has been contested since the official founding of Britain as a separate GAA province in 1926.

History

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The Provincial Council of Britain was established in 1926 by the Central Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association, following a number of years of direct affiliation by British county boards with the GAA.[1] With London already playing in the Irish competitive football structure, the All-Britain was set up in order to facilitate competition between the British county teams. At the 1927 GAA Congress, county teams under the remit of the British Provincial Council were allowed to compete in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship for the first time.

London and Warwickshire have been dominant throughout the tournament's existence, owing in part to their large Irish diasporic populations. However, between 2000 and 2020 there was a much larger variance in winning counties, with all 8 participants winning during that period and only Lancashire winning three or more titles in a row. In 2021, following years of decline in the All-Ireland JFC and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the GAA Congress passed a motion completely changing the format of junior county football, resulting in Kilkenny no longer competing in the All-Britain. Since then, London and Warwickshire have resumed their dominance, playing in every final from 2022 to present.

Teams

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The seven counties of Britain compete in the Championship:

All-Britain Football Championship is located in the United Kingdom
Scotland
Scotland
Lancashire
Lancashire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
London
London
County Location Stadium Year formed Position in 2026 Championship All-Britain titles
Gloucestershire Cardiff Pontcanna Fields 1959; 67 years ago Group stage 1 (2008)
Hertfordshire Watford Radlett Road 1960; 66 years ago Semi-final 3 (1965, 1972, 2000)
Lancashire Manchester Old Bedians 1926; 100 years ago Group stage 13 (1949, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1993, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016)
London Ruislip McGovern Park 1896; 130 years ago Champions 42 (1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026)
Scotland Glasgow Clydebank Sports Hub 1897; 129 years ago Semi-final 2 (2014, 2019)
Warwickshire Solihull Páirc na hÉireann 1941; 85 years ago Runner-up 20 (1946, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2021, 2023)
Yorkshire Leeds Páirc Beeston 1948; 78 years ago Group stage 4 (1961, 1983, 1996, 2001)

The counties in Britain exist as junior-level teams and do not compete in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship or Tailteann Cup (except London, who have a senior team). Unlike the ladies' football competitions, teams cannot be promoted from or relegated to the junior competition.

Kilkenny played in the All-Britain prior to the re-formatting of the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship in 2021:

County Location Stadium Year formed Position in 2026 Championship All-Britain titles
Kilkenny Kilkenny Nowlan Park 1887; 139 years ago N/A 3 (2015, 2017, 2018)

List of finals

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The winner (and since 2021, the runner-up) of the All-Britain qualifies for the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship:

Year Winners Runners-Up Venue
County Score County Score
2026[2] London 1-13 Warwickshire 1-11 McGovern Park, Ruislip
2025 London 1-14 Warwickshire 1-13 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2024 London 2-10 Warwickshire 0-10 McGovern Park, Ruislip
2023 Warwickshire 1-18 AET London 1-15 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2022 London 3-14 Warwickshire 3-08 McGovern Park, Ruislip
2021[3] Warwickshire 1-10, 2–13 London 0-13, 0-08 McGovern Park, Ruislip; Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2020 no games played due to COVID-19
2019[4] Scotland 3–12 Warwickshire 3–11 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2018 Kilkenny 6–12 Warwickshire 0–09 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2017 Kilkenny 3–15 Warwickshire 1–06 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2016[5] Lancashire 1–10 London 2–06 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2015[6] Kilkenny 2-07 Scotland 0-08 Granton Road, Edinburgh
2014[4] Scotland 3–10 Warwickshire 2–07 Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
2013 Lancashire 2-12 Hertfordshire 1-11
2012 Lancashire 2–10 London 0–10
2011 Lancashire 1–11 Warwickshire 0–04
2010 Lancashire 0-16 London 1-06
2009 London 2-06 Lancashire 0-10
2008 Gloucestershire 1-12 Warwickshire 0-06
2007 London 0-11 Lancashire 0-09

Roll of honour

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Source:[7][8]

  • 1928 London
  • 1929 London
  • 1930 London
  • 1931 London
  • 1932 London
  • 1933 London
  • 1934 London
  • 1935 London
  • 1936 unknown
  • 1937 London
  • 1938 London
  • 1939 not played
  • 1940 not played
  • 1941 not played
  • 1942 not played
  • 1943 not played
  • 1944 not played
  • 1945 not played
  • 1946 Warwickshire
  • 1947 London
  • 1948 London
  • 1949 Lancashire
  • 1950 London
  • 1951 Warwickshire
  • 1952 London
  • 1953 Lancashire
  • 1954 London
  • 1955 Warwickshire
  • 1956 London
  • 1957 Warwickshire
  • 1958 Lancashire
  • 1959 London
  • 1960 London
  • 1961 Yorkshire
  • 1962 London
  • 1963 Lancashire
  • 1964 London
  • 1965 Hertfordshire
  • 1966 London
  • 1967 London
  • 1968 London
  • 1969 London
  • 1970 London
  • 1971 London
  • 1972 Hertfordshire
  • 1973 London
  • 1974 London
  • 1975 London
  • 1976 Warwickshire
  • 1977 unknown
  • 1978 Warwickshire
  • 1979 Warwickshire
  • 1980 Warwickshire
  • 1981 unknown
  • 1982 London
  • 1983 Yorkshire
  • 1984 Warwickshire
  • 1985 Warwickshire
  • 1986 London
  • 1987 Warwickshire
  • 1988 London
  • 1989 Warwickshire
  • 1990 Warwickshire
  • 1991 London
  • 1992 London
  • 1993 Lancashire
  • 1994 Lancashire
  • 1995 London
  • 1996 Yorkshire
  • 1997 Warwickshire
  • 1998 Warwickshire
  • 1999 Warwickshire
  • 2000 Hertfordshire
  • 2001 Yorkshire
  • 2002 Lancashire
  • 2003 Warwickshire
  • 2004 Lancashire
  • 2005 London
  • 2006 Warwickshire
  • 2007 London
  • 2008 Gloucestershire
  • 2009 London
  • 2010 Lancashire
  • 2011 Lancashire
  • 2012 Lancashire
  • 2013 Lancashire
  • 2014 Scotland
  • 2015 Kilkenny
  • 2016 Lancashire
  • 2017 Kilkenny
  • 2018 Kilkenny
  • 2019 Scotland
  • 2020 not played
  • 2021 Warwickshire
  • 2022 London
  • 2023 Warwickshire
  • 2024 London
  • 2025 London
  • 2026 London

References

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  1. "About". Provincial Council of Britain. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  2. Clubber TV (15 June 2026). London vs Warwickshire | Britain GAA Junior Football Final | 14/6/26. Retrieved 29 June 2026 via YouTube.
  3. McNulty, Chris (1 August 2021). "Kilcar Man Fires Warwickshire to All Britain GAA Glory". Donegal Daily. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 Dolan, Damien (21 June 2019). "Scotland GAA Set Up GoFundMe Page to Play in British Final". The Irish World. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  5. Post, Irish. "Comeback kings Lancashire land All-Britain Championship title". The Irish Post. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  6. Morgan, Mary (28 June 2015). "Kilkenny Win British Junior Football Title". Kilkenny GAA. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  7. "Mens [sic] Gaelic Football". Gaelic Games Council of Britain. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  8. Donegan, Des (2005). The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games: A Comprehensive Record of Results and Teams (1887-2005). DBA Publications.