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 Downing Stadium in New York City, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1947 All-Ireland Final between the teams at the Polo Grounds.Kerry photos1997 Kerry v Cavan NFL game in New York PhotosTerrace Talk 1997 The then Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani threw the ball in ahead of the game.

Offaly won their first and only league title.GAA Archive 1998

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.Gaelic Games website

Group section Group A TeamPldWDLPtsStatus 7 6 0 0 13 Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 7 5 2 0 12 7 4 21 10 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 7 4 1 2 9 7 3 0 4 6Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL 7 1 1 5 3 7 11 5 3 7 0 0 7 0

Group B TeamPldWDLPtsStatus 7 6 1 0 13 Advance to Knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 7 5 1 1 11 7 5 02 10 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 7 4 1 2 9 7 3 0 4 6Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL 7 2 1 4 5 7 10 6 2 7 0 0 7 0

Group C TeamPldWDLPtsStatus 7 6 1 0 13 Advance to knockout stage and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 7 4 1 2 9 7 4 03 8 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 7 4 0 3 8 7 3 2 2 8Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL 7 3 0 4 6 7 20 5 4 7 0 0 7 0

Group D TeamPldWDLPtsStatus 8 6 0 2 12 Advance to quarter-finals and moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 8 6 0 2 12 8 6 02 12 Moved to Division One of the 1998–99 NFL 8 4 1 3 9 8 4 1 3 9Moved to Division Two of the 1998–99 NFL 8 4 0 4 8 8 2 2 4 6 8 11 6 3 8 0 1 7 1

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Finals

References