The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. Since 2022 the final has been played in May. Until 2018, the year it moved to June, the final was usually traditionally played on the third Sunday in July.

All nine Ulster counties participate. It is regarded as the hardest to win of the four provincial football championships. At a referee conference in January 2015, David Coldrick said about officiating in the competition: "Ulster makes or breaks you. It can be a graveyard. The games are different. There is an extra dimension and intensity, and you must be at your best. If you aren't prepared physically and mentally, the chances are you will be caught out. But when you are appointed for your first Ulster championship match, that's making progress".

The winners receive the Anglo-Celt Cup, which was presented to the Ulster Council in 1925 by John F. O'Hanlon, who was editor of The Anglo-Celt newspaper based in Cavan.

Cavan have won the most championships (40). Armagh are the title holders, defeating Monaghan after extra-time in the 2026 final.

History Following the founding of the GAA in 1884, the first Ulster Senior Football Championship was played in 1888, when Red Hand of Monaghan played Mocha Finn's of Cavan at Bryanstown. Monaghan were the first ever Ulster Champions following a 0–3 to 0–2 win after a replay.

Cavan are the most successful team in Ulster SFC history, having won the competition on 40 occasions. Cavan maintain the record for consecutive appearances in Ulster Finals. During the 1930s and 1940s, they appeared in and won seven consecutive Ulster SFC titles. Fermanagh remain the only team not to have won an Ulster SFC title. The Ulster Senior Football Championship celebrated its 125th year in 2013.

For many decades, winning the Ulster Senior Football Championship was considered as much as a team from Ulster could hope for, as the other provinces were usually much stronger and more competitive.

Before 1990, only Cavan in 1933, 1935, 1947, 1948 and 1952, and Down in 1960, 1961 and 1968, had won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title. In the 1990s however, a significant sea change took place, as the Ulster Champions won the All-Ireland in four consecutive years from 1991 to 1994. Since then Ulster has produced more All-Ireland winning teams than any other province.

Currently the Ulster Senior Football Championship is considered one of the toughest provinces to compete in. Ulster teams have gained considerable dominance on the All-Ireland scene, having won three All-Irelands from four in the early 2000s, including in 2003 when for the first time ever, the All-Ireland football final was competed for by two teams from one province.

Before 2022, when the GAA moved the inter-county schedule ahead in the calendar to improve player welfare, the Ulster SFC final was traditionally played on the third Sunday in July, usually at St Tiernach's Park in Clones. From 2004 until 2006, it was staged at Croke Park in Dublin to accommodate expected large crowds. The 2007 final—contested by Monaghan and Tyrone—marked a return to Clones, with Tyrone emerging victorious. The Athletic Grounds in Armagh hosted the 2020 final, as the fixture was played behind closed doors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games. The final was last played in Belfast in 1971.

In the 2000s, Armagh were a dominant force in Ulster, winning six titles in eight years between 1999 and 2006. Donegal won consecutive Ulster SFC titles from the preliminary round in 2011 and 2012 (a feat achieved by no other county) and added the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 2012.

The 2019 final had the highest score for the winning team in the final (Donegal that year) since 1933 when Cavan won, and the second highest score ever. It also had the highest Ulster SFC final score for the losing team ever (Cavan on this occasion).According to Mark Sidebottom, who presented BBC's live coverage of the game, in the post-match discussion. 23 June 2019.

Format Overview The Ulster Senior Football Championship is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is currently no seeding. Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.

Qualification for subsequent competitions The winner and runner-up of the championship qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship group stage. The remaining seven Ulster teams may also qualify for the All-Ireland SFC group stage via the National Football League. Those who fail to do so qualify for the Tailteann Cup. Note: Before the introduction of the qualifiers in 2001, the winners of the Ulster SFC went straight to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, along with the winners of the Leinster, Munster and Connacht Championships. Teams who are drawn to play in the preliminary round in a given year will receive an automatic bye to the quarter-final stage for the following two seasons.

Progression Teams entering in this roundTeams advancing from previous roundPreliminary round (2 teams) Two teams drawn at randomQuarter-finals (8 teams) Seven teams drawn at random Winner from the preliminary-roundSemi-finals (4 teams) 4 winners from the quarter-finalsFinal (2 teams) 2 winners from the semi-finals

Teams

The Ulster SFC is contested by the nine traditional counties in the Irish province of Ulster. The province comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland, plus the counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. It is the only provincial football championship with any participating teams from Northern Ireland.

2026 Championship Nine counties will compete in the 2026 Ulster Senior Football Championship: County teamLocationStadiumPosition in 2026 ChampionshipUlster SFC titlesLast Ulster SFC titleAll-Ireland SFC titlesLast All-Ireland SFC title BelfastCorrigan ParkQuarter-finalist1019510 ArmaghAthletic GroundsWinner15202622024 CavanBreffni ParkQuarter-finalist40202051952 DerryCeltic ParkSemi-finalist9202311993 BallybofeyMacCumhaill ParkQuarter-finalist12202522012 NewryPáirc EslerSemi-finalist12199451994 EnniskillenBrewster ParkQuarter-finalist00 ClonesSt Tiernach's ParkFinalist1620150 OmaghHealy ParkPreliminary round16202142021

Personnel and kits County teamManagerCaptain(s)Sponsor(s) VacantFibrus Kieran McGeeneyAidan ForkerSimply Fruit Raymond GalliganPadraig Faulkner & Ciarán BradyKingspan Group Ciarán MeenaghConor GlassErrigal Contracts Jim McGuinnessPaddy McBreartyCircet Conor LavertyPierce LavertyEOS IT Solutions Kieran DonnellyEoin DonnellyTracey Concrete Gabriel BanniganMicheál BanniganAll Boro Floor Services Malachy O'RourkeBrian KennedyMcAleer & Rushe Ltd

List of finals