# 1985–86 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1985–86 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Ford National Football League, was the 55th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
Laois won their second title to bridge a sixty-year gap.

## Format

1985-86 saw a change in format of the National League. Divisions Three and Four were amalgamated into a new Division Three, which was split by region.

### Divisions

* Division One: 8 teams
* Division Two: 8 teams
* Division Three: 16 teams. Split into two regional groups of 8 (North and South)

### Round-robin format

Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.

### Points awarded

2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.

### Titles

Teams in all three divisions competed for the National Football League title.

### Knockout stage qualifiers

* Division One: top 4 teams
* Division Two: top 2 teams
* Division Three (North): group winners
* Division Three (South): group winners

### Knockout phase structure

In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows:
* Quarter-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (South)
* Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (North)
* Quarter-final 3: Third-placed team in Division One v Second-placed team in Division Two
* Quarter-final 4: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Two
The semi-final match-ups are:
* Semi-final 1: Winner Quarter-final 1 v Winner Quarter-final 4
* Semi-final 2: Winner Quarter-final 2 v Winner Quarter-final 3
The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.

### Promotion and relegation

* Division One: bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Two
* Division Two: top 2 teams promoted to Division One. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Three.
* Division Three (North): group winners promoted to Division Two.
* Division Three (South): group winners promoted to Division Two.

### Separation of teams on equal points

In the event that teams finish on equal points, then a play-off will be used to determine group placings if necessary, i.e. where to decide relegation places or quarter-finalists.

## League Tables
### Division One

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Down | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | Advance to quarter-finals |
| Monaghan | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Advance to quarter-finals |
| Meath | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Advance to quarter-finals |
| Armagh | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | Advance to quarter-finals |
| Kerry | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Roscommon | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Kildare | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL |
| Tyrone | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL |

### Division Two

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Mayo | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division One of the 1986–87 NFL |
| Dublin | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division One of the 1986–87 NFL |
| Donegal | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Cork | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Cavan | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Longford | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Galway | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1986–87 NFL |
| Wexford | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1986–87 NFL |

### Division Three
#### Division Three (North) table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Derry | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL |
| Louth | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| Offaly | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| Antrim | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Sligo | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| Leitrim | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
| Fermanagh | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
| Westmeath | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |

#### Division Three (South) table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Laois | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | Advance to quarter-finals; promoted to Division Two of the 1986–87 NFL |
| Carlow | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wicklow | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Limerick | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | |
| Clare | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Tipperary | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Waterford | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| Kilkenny | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | |