Derry championship structures announced for this season

The latest formats for the Derry championships at senior, intermediate, and junior levels have been announced for the 2025 season.

The group formats of last season have been replaced with alternatives at each level, with this being voted through at a county committee meeting in Owenbeg last night.

As reported in the Irish News, clubs voted to implement a back-door system for the senior championship, similar to the model adopted in Down.

The SFC is returning to 16 teams, from 12, which had led many to speculate that it would be a straight knockout; however, a number of clubs wanted an alternative, and the backdoor model has been adopted.

It will guarantee clubs two games in this year's competition, with the eight winners from the first round facing each other in round two; the eight losers from round one would face each other, and should they lose their second fixture, they will be eliminated and go into relegation playoffs, out of which one team will drop to intermediate.

The winners of the second round that had lost the first round will face a club that had won the first round but lost the second round; the winners will progress to the quarter finals of the championship while the loser will be eliminated.

Meanwhile, group stages will be used in the intermediate and junior championships, yet these have been altered from last season.

In the intermediate championship, there will be four groups of three teams; the top two will qualify for the quarterfinals while the bottom teams go into a relegation semifinal.

The draw for the groups is open, with each side playing one home fixture and one away fixture.

At junior level, there will be three groups of three teams, with each side having one home fixture and one away fixture.

At the end of the group stage, the teams will be ranked from first to ninth, with the top eight progressing to the quarterfinals.

This round will be seeded, with the top four sides from the group stage being rewarded with a home fixture for the quarterfinal.

The semifinal will then be an open draw.

The teams competing in the Senior Championship are the same as last season, with the additions of intermediate All-Ireland finalists Ballinderry, Faughanvale, Drumsurn, and Banagher, all being promoted to this level.

At intermediate level, Ulster junior finalists Craigbane, Ballerin, Ballymaguigan, and Lissan have all been promoted from junior level.