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American Football Ireland

What is American Football Ireland?

American Football Ireland is the National Governing Body for the sport of American Football across the island of Ireland and is responsible for all regulatory, competition, performance and development aspects of the game. Check out our About page for more information.

American Football Ireland‘s activities are many and varied and include the following:

  •     The organisation and promotion of all amateur domestic national competitions across both contact and non contact versions of the game.
  •     The organisation and promotion of the national teams in international competition.
  •     The promotion of the game to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities and the provision of opportunities for their engagement and development.
  •     The regulation of the game on and off the field of play through oversight of its rules.
  •     The representation of the Irish game to national and international partners, be they sporting organisations, federations or commercial interests.

AFI was originally founded in 1984 as the American Football Association of Ireland (AFAI), with the first league season played in 1986.

American Football Ireland is recognised by Sport Ireland and the Federation of Irish Sports.

It is also an Associated Member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

Each code of American Football has its own league. Clubs are organised within the league to play games against each other. AFI uses a system of promotion and relegation, so given enough teams are playing, the league will be organised into separate divisions, and to determine a team to promote/relegate. As of 2026, Kitted and Flag both have 2 divisions, and Youth has 1 division.

You can find teams and their locations on our website through our league pages. You can contact teams using the provided emails. Most teams have a strong presence on social media where you can also contact them for information. 

You join AFI through a club. If interested in starting a new club you should contact the AFI Board and inform them of your plans. This will start the process.

There are 3 codes of American Football available – Kitted, Flag, and Youth.

Kitted American Football

What are the rules of Kitted American Football?

AFI plays under the IFAF official rulebook, found here.

You must be 18 years or older to play Senior Kitted American Football. Youth football is for ages 15-17 years of age. 

Senior Kitted is divided into 2 divisions, the Premier Division and Division 1. The top 4 teams in the Premier Division qualify for the Shamrock Bowl Playoffs, while the last place finisher is relegated to Division 1. The top 4 teams in Division 1 qualify for the Harp Bowl playoffs, with the champion promoted to the Premier Division.

The top finisher in Division 1 (the Harp Bowl Champion) is automatically promoted to the Premier Division, while the bottom finisher in the Premier Division is automatically relegated. Teams that forfeit multiple games in the Premier Division will be automatically relegated, even if they are higher ranked. The league can also promote or relegate teams if the automatically promoted teams do not meet the requirements/guidelines for promotion, or to balance the number of teams in the Premier Division and Division 1.

For Kitted American Football, the tiebreakers are:

(i) Least number of forfeits given.
(ii) Head to Head least number of forfeits given.
(i) Least number of points deducted for any other reasons.
(iii) Points difference in head to head games.
(iv) Points difference in all games. (forfeits count as 30-0 or 30-30).
(ii) Least number of disciplinary points.
(v) Seeding based on position in previous season’s standings. For clarification, seeding will be based on the teams’
regular season record from the previous season(s).
(iii) Drawn out of hat.

You can find them in full in our bylaws.

Here is the field marking guide for Kitted American Football.

Flag American Football

What are the rules of Flag American Football?

AFI plays under the IFAF official rulebook, found here.

You must be 16 years or older to play Flag American Football.

Mixed Flag is open to both Men and Women. Women’s Flag is a woman only league.

Mixed Flag is divided into 2 divisions, the Premier Division and Division 1. The top 6 teams in the Premier Division qualify for the Emerald Bowl Playoffs, with the top 2 seeds earning a bye to the semifinal. The bottom 2 finishers are relegated to Division 1. The top 6 teams in Division 1 qualify for the Glas Bowl playoffs, with the top 2 teams promoted to the Premier Division.

Women’s Flag has 1 division, with all teams competing for the Claddagh Bowl.

For Mixed Flag, the top 2 finishers in Division 1 (the 2 Glas Bowl participants) are automatically promoted to the Premier Division, while the bottom 2 finishers in the Premier Division are automatically relegated. Teams that forfeit multiple games in the Premier Division will be automatically relegated, even if they are higher ranked. The Flag Football Committee can also promote or relegate teams if the automatically promoted teams do not meet the requirements/guidelines for promotion, or to balance the number of teams in the Premier Division and Division 1.

Women’s Flag only has 1 division, so no promotion or relegation is applied.

For Flag American Football, the tiebreakers are:

(i) Head to head regular season
(i) Highest Total PF
(ii) Lowest Total PA
(iii) Strength of Schedule
(ii) Points difference in head to head games.
(iv) Drawn out of hat.

You can find them in full in our bylaws.

Here is the field marking guide for Flag American Football.

Youth American Football

What are the eligibility requirements to play?

Youth American Football is for ages 15-17 years of age. If you were 17 for at least one day in the current calendar year you are also eligible to play.

Youth American football is organised in the Setanta League. The league is played as a series of blitz gamedays (days with a number of teams gathering in one spot to play multiple games), with the top 4 teams qualifying for the Setanta Bowl Playoffs.

The standing tiebreakers for Youth are the same as for senior kitted.

You can find them in full in our bylaws.

Here is the field marking guide for Youth American Football.

Governance

How is AFI governed?

AFI is governed by a Board of Management. The Board consists of nine members including the President, an external appointee and a Chief Financial Officer plus six other members. AFI’s discipline and day to day administration is run by a Commissioner.

As at May 2026 the Board consists of President Alan Lomasney, Chief Financial Officer Bryan Molloy, Board Members Frieda Gallagher, Jenny Kavanagh, Lyndsay McVeigh, Paddy Sweeney, Paul Kirkwood, Paul O’Donnell and external appointee Alison Hughes.

Here is the Constitution for AFI.

Here are the full bylaws for AFI.

AFI’s anti-doping policy can be found here.

International

What are the national teams for American Football in Ireland?

The national teams for Ireland are called the Irish Wolfhounds. There is a Senior Kitted team, a U19 Kitted team, a Men’s Flag team, and a Women’s Flag team

You must be selected by the team in order to play. There are periodic open try out sessions held in order to assess new players.

You must be an Irish citizen to be selected.

Contact us here and we will help you out.