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The Leinster Football Championship is a gaelic football tournament in the province of Leinster in Ireland. It is organized by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and participated by teams from the province of Leinster except for Kilkenny.
The tournament is played via knockout system where a team is eliminated after they are beaten. The competing teams a seeded during a draw with last year’s semi-finalists getting byes to the quarterfinals. Six of the other seven teams will play in preliminary matches leading to the quarterfinals while the seventh team also gets a draw to the quarters.
The draw for the 2019 Leinster Football Championship took place last October 11, 2018 or less than six weeks after Dublin defeated Tyrone for the 2018 Leinster Football Championship. Below is the schedule as a result of the draw:
PRELIMINARY
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Venue | Date | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louth | v | Wexford | Innovate Wexford Park | 5/12/2019 | 3:00 |
| 2 | Wicklow | v | Kildare | Netwatch Cullen Park | 5/11/2019 | 7:00 |
| 3 | Meath | v | Offaly | Pairc Tailteann Navan | 5/11/2019 | 3:00 |
QUARTER-FINALS
| 4 | Louth/Wexford | v | Dublin | O’Moore Park, Portlaoise/Innovate Wexford Park | 5/25/2019 | 7:00 |
| 5
5 |
Kildare
Wickford |
v | Longford | Bord na Mona, O’Connor Park
Glennon Bros Pearse Park |
5/26/2019
5/26/2019 |
4:00
3:00 |
| 6 | Meath/Offaly | v | Carlow | Tullamore/Portlaoise | 5/25/2019 | 5:00/7:00 |
| 7 | Westmeath | v | Laois | Bord na Mona O’Connor Park | 5/26/2019 | 2:00/3:00 |
SEMI-FINALS
| 8 | Winner 4 | v | Winner 5 | Croke Park | 6/9/2019 | TBA |
| 9 | Winner 6 | v | Winner 7 | Croke Park | 6/19/2019 | TBA |
The winners of Games 8 and 9 will then duke it out for the 2019 Leinster Football Championship on June 23, 2019 also at Croke Park.
Last year, Dublin defeated Laois 1-25 against 0-10 to win the 2018 Leinster Football Championship. The 18-point victory over Laois was the 8th consecutive time Jim Gavin’s side has won the Leinster Football Championship. Yes, that’s correct and not a typo: 8 straight Leinsters. The streak matches the record set by Kerry twice in the Munster Football Championships. Kerry won the Munster from 1958 to 1965 and from 1975-1982 and never since then have seen seen a team as dominant, until now.
This year, Dublin sets out to win an unprecedented 9th consecutive Leinster Football Championship. And by all indications- from experts and from football betting, they have a strong chance of adding to their historic run. Experts are saying while this year won’t be as easy as the previous year, there is no doubt that Dublin is still a cut above the rest. Bookmakers are also saying the same by putting Dublin as a heavy favorite to repeat again this year.
Here are the odds to win the Leinster Football Championship 2019. Odds taken from bet365 as of 5/6/19:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Dublin | -3300 |
| Kildare | +1400 |
| Meath | +1400 |
| Laois | +5000 |
| Westmeath | +8000 |
| Carlow | +20000 |
| Longford | +25000 |
| Offaly | +50000 |
| Louth | +50000 |
| Wexford | +50000 |
| Wicklow | +50000 |
We’re supposed to discuss the favorites next but if you look at the oddsboard, this year’s Leinster Football Championship is a three-way battle between Dublin, Kildare and Meath. However, the gap not just in betting odds but also in terms of quality of sides is huge, hence Dublin are the overwhelming favorites here. So instead of asking who are the favorites in this year’s Leinster Football Championship, the more appropriate question would be: Can anybody stop Dublin?
Dominant Dublin
If everyone thinks Dublin will be hard to topple in the 2019 All-Ireland Football Championship, what more for the Leinster? That’s because Dublin hasn’t been just the top team in the Leinster, they have been the top side in all of Ireland. Dublin has won the All-Ireland Football Championship in the last four years and in six out of the last eight years. This year, bet365 has them as a -150 favorites (as of 5/4/19) to win a fifth title. Their closest pursuers are Kerry, who is currently pegged at 450. Next in the order is Mayo his at +800. If experts believe that Kerry and Mayo may be two or three years away from beating Dublin in the All-Ireland Football Championship, what more for the Leinster?
Dublin has won a total of 57 Leinster Football Championships, twice more than the next winningest county. They’ve won 14 titles in the last two decades and a total of 28 since 1970. If that’s not dominance, I don’t know what the word means. Having said that, I don’t think we have to go down to the details in this one. Dublin is likely hoisting a 9th straight Leinster trophy next month. With Dublin priced at -3300, there isn’t much betting value there. But yeah, if you want to pick the outright winner, it’s Dublin.
However, if you want to make a bet with on Dublin that has better value, I suggest we wait for the tournament to start and look for prop bets on Dublin’s games. Or even prop bets on the 2019 Leinster Football Championship. So keep it here as we’ll be updating you once these become available.
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