| League: | 1971–72 National Football League |
| Dates: | October 1971 – 14 May 1972 |
| Team1: | Kerry |
| Captain1: | Mick Gleeson |
| Titles: | 10th |
| Team2: | Mayo |
| Captain2: | Ray Prendergast |
| Two: | Longford |
| Previous: | 1969–70 |
| Next: | 1972–73 |
The 1971–72 National Football League was the 41st staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
Kerry successfully defended the Mayo title in the final for the second consecutive season.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.
2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.
In the Semi-Finals, the match-ups were as follows:
The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.
In the event that teams finish on equal points, then teams were separated according to points average(goals scored divided by goals conceded).[6]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Aver | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offaly | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 116 | 65 | 1.785 | 14 | Qualify for Knockout Stage |
| Kerry | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 114 | 80 | 1.425 | 10 | |
| Dublin | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 82 | 73 | 1.123 | 8 | |
| Cork | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 73 | 74 | 0.986 | 7 | |
| Galway | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 91 | 80 | 1.138 | 6 | |
| Kildare | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 85 | 107 | 0.794 | 5 | |
| Waterford | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 95 | 0.537 | 4 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1972–73 NFL |
| Tipperary | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 59 | 97 | 0.608 | 2 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Aver | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derry | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 53 | 2.038 | 14 | Qualify for Knockout Stage |
| Mayo | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 87 | 83 | 1.048 | 10 | |
| Sligo | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 79 | 0.949 | 8 | |
| Laois | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 78 | 83 | 0.940 | 7 | |
| Meath | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 80 | 83 | 0.964 | 6 | |
| Fermanagh | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 88 | 96 | 0.917 | 5 | |
| Antrim | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 74 | 93 | 0.796 | 4 | Relegated to Division Two of the 1972–73 NFL |
| Down | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 71 | 91 | 0.780 | 2 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Aver | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longford | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 58 | 1.828 | 14 | Qualify for Knockout Stage; promoted to Division One of the 1972–73 NFL |
| Roscommon | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 123 | 52 | 2.365 | 12 | |
| Carlow | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 99 | 84 | 1.179 | 8 | |
| Clare | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 70 | 81 | 0.864 | 7 | |
| Limerick | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 84 | 96 | 0.875 | 6 | |
| Wexford | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 83 | 93 | 0.892 | 5 | |
| Wicklow | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 65 | 104 | 0.625 | 2 | |
| Kilkenny | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 68 | 130 | 0.523 | 2 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Aver | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavan | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 97 | 47 | 2.064 | 12 | Qualify for Knockout Stage; promoted to Division One of the 1972–73 NFL |
| Westmeath | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 81 | 1.346 | 10 | |
| Monaghan | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 76 | 60 | 1.267 | 10 | |
| Tyrone | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 61 | 0.984 | 8 | |
| Louth | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 75 | 1.013 | 7 | |
| Armagh | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 72 | 89 | 0.809 | 4 | |
| Donegal | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 64 | 99 | 0.646 | 3 | |
| Leitrim | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 73 | 115 | 0.635 | 2 |