Derry Intermediate Football Championship
| Derry Intermediate Football Championship | |
|---|---|
| Irish | Craobh Idirmheánach Peile Dhoire |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Trophy | Sheridan, Bateson and Lee Cup |
| Title holders | Foreglen (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Craigbane (7 titles) |
| Sponsors | M&L Contracts |
The Derry Intermediate Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the M&L Contracts Derry Intermediate Football Championship) is an annual competition between the intermediate (second tier) Gaelic football clubs in Derry GAA. The winners of the Derry Championship qualify to represent their county in the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship, the winners of which progress to the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship.
The trophy is named after John Bateson (aged 19), James Sheridan (20) and Martin Lee (18), all members of the South Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) who died in an explosion in Magherafelt on 18 December 1971. All three men came from Ballymaguigan and played for the St Trea's GFC Ballymaguigan.
The competition traditionally took the structure of an open-draw knock-out.
In 2007 and 2008, the championship was altered to include a round robin, group structure with the 16 teams divided into four groups. Each club in a group played each other once with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-finals. From the quarter-finals onwards the competition took the format of a knock-out.
The format was changed once again for the 2009 Championship. The Derry Competitions Control Committee accepted a proposal to scrap the group stage and introduce a "backdoor" system. The 16 clubs play in the first round. In the second round the eight first round winners are drawn against each other, with the four winners going into bowl A for the quarter-finals. The eight first round losers are also drawn against each other and the four winners advance to the quarter-finals (in bowl B). Teams in bowl A are drawn out against teams from bowl B to make up the quarter-final draw. Thereafter the competition is an open-draw knock-out.
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