# 1980–81 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1980–81 National Football League was the 50th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
Galway defeated Roscommon in an all-Connacht final.

## Format
### Titles

Teams in all four divisions competed for one league title.

### Divisions

* Division One: 8 teams
* Division Two: 8 teams
* Division Three: 8 teams
* Division Four: 8 teams

### Round-robin format

Each team played every other team in its division once, either home or away.

### Points awarded

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

### Knockout stage qualifiers

* Division One: top 4 teams
* Division Two: top 2 teams
* Division Three: top team
* Division Four: top team

### Knockout phase structure

In the Preliminary quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows
* Preliminary Quarter-final 1: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Four
* Preliminary Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division Two v First-placed team in Division Three
In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows
* Quarter-final 1: Winner Preliminary Quarter-final 1 v First-placed team in Division Two
* Quarter-final 2: Winner Preliminary Quarter-final 2 v Third-placed team in Division One
The semi-final match-ups are:
* Semi-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v Winner Quarter-final 1
* Semi-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v Winner Quarter-final 2

### 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 stage
### Division One
#### Tables

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| Kerry | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Roscommon | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Dublin | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Armagh | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Cork | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Offaly | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Down | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL |
| Kildare | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL |

### Division Two
#### Tables

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| Galway | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | Promoted to Division One of the 1981–82 NFL and qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Mayo | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 | Promoted to Division One of the 1981–82 NFL and qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Tyrone | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Derry | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Meath | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Monaghan | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Laois | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL |
| Antrim | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL |

### Division Three

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| Fermanagh | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | Promoted to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL and Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Cavan | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Promoted to Division Two of the 1981–82 NFL |
| Donegal | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Louth | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Wexford | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Tipperary | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Sligo | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | Relegated to Division Four of the 1981–82 NFL |
| Clare | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | Relegated to Division Four of the 1981–82 NFL |

### Division Four

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| Wicklow | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Promoted to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL and Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Westmeath | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Promoted to Division Three of the 1981–82 NFL |
| Longford | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| Waterford | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Leitrim | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Limerick | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Carlow | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
| Kilkenny | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |