There’s likely to be more than a national title on the line as Down square up to Wexford in Saturday’s National Football League Division Three final at Croke Park (19:15 GMT).
Kildare’s relegation from Division Two complicates the picture in the race to secure Sam Maguire football later this year as the Lilywhites are guaranteed a place in the top tier after winning last year’s Tailteann Cup.
That means that the Division Three league winner will secure their place amongst the 16 teams competing for the biggest prize in Gaelic football, as long as no county below them in the league rankings qualifies for their provincial final.
In that instance the winners of Saturday’s final would compete for the second-tier Tailteann Cup this summer and not in the All-Ireland series.
The picture does look slightly clearer when you delve into who beneath Down and Wexford are likely to reach their provincial finals. The most likely candidate to reach their respective final is Clare (Munster) but that would mean they would have to beat reigning All-Ireland champions Kerry to reach that final.
Of course, Conor Laverty’s side could offset all of these permutations by reaching the Ulster final themselves, but they have been placed on the tougher side of the draw and would have to beat both Donegal (away) and likely Armagh (or Tyrone) to get there.
The Mourne men got a taste for the top tier action last year, beating Louth and Clare to reach the preliminary quarter-final, before falling to Galway at Pairc Esler.
One thing that is guaranteed is Down’s return to Division Two for 2027, immediately bouncing back from relegation in 2025, winning six of their seven league games this spring.
They’ll face unlikely opponents in Saturday’s decider in Wexford, a side that have secured back to back promotions and were tipped for an immediate return to the basement division before a ball was kicked.
The Model County secured promotion in the most dramatic fashion last week, they trailed favourites Westmeath by two points with three seconds left on the clock, before Sean Ryan fired to the net to steal the league final spot from their opponents.
