All-Ireland senior football championship permutations: Field for Sam Maguire Cup starts to take shape

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. Cork, 13. Kildare, 14. Meath, 15. Cavan, 16. Fermanagh.

Clare’s Munster quarter-final win over Cork on Sunday means that the Banner (17th) or their semi-final opponents Limerick (18th) will take one of the 16 Sam Maguire spots. History-makers New York or Sligo (23rd) will take another, as will Westmeath .

That means Division 2 side Meath are now effectively ranked 17th and will have to reach the Leinster final to make the All-Ireland series.

Kildare (now 16th) would drop to the Tailteann Cup if the Royals (or Offaly) did make the Leinster decider, unless the Lilywhites also reached the provincial final by coming through the side of the draw containing Dublin. In that somewhat unlikely scenario, Cork would be the team to miss out.

Even if Louth or Westmeath take their care of their Leinster rivals, Kildare also have to worry about Cavan or Fermanagh reaching the Ulster final, and the more remote prospect of Tipperary