The Connacht Championship draw provided a major talking point as four counties ranked outside of the top two divisions could qualify for next year’s All-Ireland series.
The Connacht quarter-final pairings were pre-determined with Leitrim going up against New York and Sligo facing New York.
The winners will subsequently face off in the semi-finals which is highly interesting as the new championship format is intrinsically linked to league standings.
The All-Ireland group stages will comprise of the eight provincial finalists and the eight next highest teams based on their league position.
Current Tailteann Cup holders Westmeath are guaranteed a place in the round-robin phase along with any team from divisions three or four which qualifies for a provincial final.
Such a prospect is now guaranteed in Connacht which means the lowest-ranked side in division two who failed to reach a provincial decider would drop down to the Tailteann Cup.
Meanwhile, the other Connacht quarter-final pairing sees Roscommon renew acquaintances with Mayo. The winners will advance to play reigning champions Galway in the last four.
Elsewhere, Offaly will provide the opposition in Paddy Christie’s first championship match in charge of Longford. The pair will clash in the Leinster football championship preliminary stages.
Victory for the Midlanders would set up a quarter-final clash with Meath and the winners of that game can look forward to playing either Westmeath or Louth in the last four.
Draws in full (semi-finals):
Connacht:
Galway v Roscommon/Mayo
New York/Leitrim v London/Sligo
Leinster:
Kildare/Wicklow/Carlow v Dublin/Wexford/Laois
Meath v Longford/Offaly v Westmeath/Louth
