| League: | 1996–97 National Football League |
| Dates: | 13 October 1996 – 4 May 1997 |
| Teams: | 33 |
| Team1: | Kerry |
| Captain1: | Mike Hassett |
| Manager1: | Páidí Ó Sé |
| Titles: | 16th |
| Team2: | Cork |
| Captain2: | Niall Cahalane |
| Manager2: | Larry Tompkins |
| Two: | Louth |
| Three: | Down |
| Four: | Offaly |
| Previous: | 1995–96 |
| Next: | 1997–98 |
The 1996–97 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Church & General National Football League, was the 66th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
The teams are in four divisions, three of 8 teams and one of 9. Each team plays all the other teams in its division once: either home or away. Teams earn 2 points for a winn and 1 for a draw. The top two teams in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 are promoted, while the bottom two teams in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 are relegated.[1]
Eight teams contest the NFL quarter-finals:
At the point at which the league was played, promotion and relegation was to be as follows:
After the season had finished, it was decided to move to a 'mixed-ability' league for a one-season experiment in the 1997–98 NFL season, which meant that there was no relegation or promotion in 1996–97.[2]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Advance to Knockout stage | |
| 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Tyrone | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Advance to Knockout stage | |
| 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Laois advanced to Knock out stage as Division 2 Runner Up | |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | |
| 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
won, with finishing second.
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