# 1981–82 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1981–82 National Football League was the 51st staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
Kerry defeated Cork in the final after a replay.

## 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.

## Group stage
### Division One
#### Table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Notes |
| Armagh | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Cork | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Offaly | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Kerry | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Qualified for Knockout Stages |
| Dublin | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Mayo | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Galway | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Roscommon | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL |

### Division Two
#### Table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Derry | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division One of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Down | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division One of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Meath | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| Tyrone | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
| Kildare | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Cavan | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Fermanagh | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Monaghan | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Relegated to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL |

### Division Three
#### Table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Wicklow | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Antrim | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Promoted to Division Two of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Laois | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Wexford | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |
| Donegal | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Louth | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Tipperary | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | Relegated to Division Four of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Westmeath | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | Relegated to Division Four of the 1982–83 NFL |

### Division Four
#### Table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Clare | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | Qualified for Knockout Stage; Promoted to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Longford | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Promoted to Division Three of the 1982–83 NFL |
| Sligo | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| Waterford | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Carlow | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Limerick | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Leitrim | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
| Kilkenny | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |