# 1997–98 National Football League (Ireland)

The 1997–98 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Church & General National Football League, was the 67th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
The Kerry v Cavan Round 1 game was played at the Polo Grounds, New York City, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1947 All-Ireland Final. The then Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani threw the ball in ahead of the game.
Offaly won their first and only league title.

## Format

The teams are in four sections, three of 8 teams and one of 9. Each team plays all the other teams in its division once: either home or away. Teams earn 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The top two teams in each section contest the NFL quarter-finals.

## Results
### Group A

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Mayo | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Galway | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Laois | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Leitrim | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Louth | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Fermanagh | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Carlow | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Kilkenny | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |

### Group B

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Donegal | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | Advance to Knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Derry | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | Advance to Knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Armagh | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Meath | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Longford | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Westmeath | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Antrim | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| London | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |

### Group C

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Offaly | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Monaghan | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Dublin | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Tyrone | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Sligo | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Kerry | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Cavan | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Wexford | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |

### Group D

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
| Down | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | Advance to quarter-finals and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Cork | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | Advance to quarter-finals and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Kildare | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Clare | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Wicklow | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Tipperary | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Roscommon | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Limerick | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |
| Waterford | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL |