Kerry Intermediate Football Championship


The Kerry Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Kerry GAA clubs.
An Ghaeltacht are the title holders, having defeated Fossa 0–19 to 1–11 in the 2025 final.

History

The competition was revived in 1959, and District Boards had the right to enter teams.
Kerry senior players play in the Kerry Intermediate Football Championship. 2014 All-Ireland winner Peter Crowley had a season-ending cruciate injury from playing for Laune Rangers in it in 2019 and missed the 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as a result. 2021 winners Na Gaeil boasted ex-Australian Football League professional Stefan Okunbor, Diarmuid O'Connor and brothers Jack and Andrew Barry in their ranks.

Honours

The winners can be promoted to play in the Kerry Club Football Championship in the year after they win this competition.
The winners of the Kerry Intermediate Football Championship progress to the Munster Intermediate Club Football Championship, representing Kerry, later that year, or, as was the case in 2021, the following year. They often do well there and recent winners include Templenoe in 2019 and Na Gaeil winning in 2022 after winning the Kerry Intermediate Football Championship in 2021. Kilcummin made it 12 wins for Kerry out of 13 in 2018. The winners can then go on and win the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship title like Milltown/Castlemaine did in 2012.
Teams beaten in the first round take part in the Intermediate Football Shield. The winners collect the Fenian Cup.

Format

Group stage

The 16 clubs are divided into four groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed three group games. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top two teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals and the bottom team in each group advance to the relegation playoffs.

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals: The 4 group winners and 4 group runners-up contest this round. A group winner will play a group runner-up of another group. The two winners from these two games advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. The two winners from these two games advance to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions and are promoted to the Kerry Senior Football Championship.

Relegation playoffs

Relegation semi-finals: The 4 group losers contest this round. The two losers from these two games advance to the relegation finals.
Relegation finals: The two semi-final losers contest the relegation final. The losing team are relegated to the Kerry Premier Junior Football Championship.

Qualification

At the end of the championship, the winning club qualify to the subsequent Munster Intermediate Club Football Championship.

List of finals

Legend

Records and statistics

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Kerry Intermediate Football Championship titles, is as follows:1930s: 2 for North Kerry 1940s: 1 each for Kenmare Shamrocks, Castlegregory, Army Ballymullen Barracks and North Kerry 1950s: 1 for Castleisland District 1960s: 1 each for Kenmare Shamrocks and Keel 1970s: 3 for Ballylongford 1980s: 2 each for Annascaul and Dingle 1990s: 2 for Milltown/Castlemaine 2000s: 1 each for ten clubs 2010s: 1 each for ten clubs 2020s: 1 each for five clubs