All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2001 - Format

Format

The provincial championships in Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht ran as usual on a "knock-out" basis. These provincial games were then followed by the "Qualifier" system:

• Round 1 of the qualifiers included all the counties that did not qualify for the Provincial Semi-Finals, except for New York. An open draw was made to give eight pairings.

• Round 2 consisted of the eight defeated teams in the Provincial Semi-Finals playing against the eight winners from Round 1. A draw was made to determine the eight pairings.

• Round 3 consisted of the 8 winners from Round 2 playing each other in an open draw format.

• Round 4 consisted of each of the four teams defeated in the Provincial Finals shall playing against the four winners from Round 3. A draw was made to determine the four pairings.

In the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals, each of the four Provincial Champions played one of the four winners from Round 4. The All-Ireland Semi-Finals were determined on a provincial rota basis, initially determined by the Central Council. If a Provincial Championship winning team was defeated in its Quarter-Final, the team that defeats it took its place in the Semi-Final.