Following the first weekend of the football championship, the qualifying picture for the Sam Maguire Cup has become slightly clearer, though the new format is still as transparent as a muddy puddle for some.Don't worry though, we’re here to explain it to you.
We hope.The basics are:There is some confusion that if Westmeath reached the Leinster final that would somehow open up another spot, but a place is only reserved for the Tailteann Cup winners if they haven’t already qualified.
So, Westmeath making the Leinster final would just mean a higher seeding for them in the group phase rather than affecting the qualification chances of other teams.The top 16 ranked teams from the league were: 1.
Mayo, 2. Galway, 3. Roscommon, 4. Tyrone, 5. Kerry, 6. Monaghan, 7. Dublin, 8. Derry, 9. Armagh, 10. Donegal, 11. Louth, 12.