2020 Donegal Senior Football Championship


The 2020 Donegal Senior Football Championship was the 98th official edition of Donegal GAA's premier Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Donegal. 16 teams competed, with the winner representing Donegal in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship. Generally, the championship begins with four groups of four and continues with a knock-out format. However, this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the format was changed.
Naomh Conaill was defending champion after defeating Gaoth Dobhair by a scoreline of 0–8 to 0–7, after a second replay in the 2019 final.
The 2020 competition progressed as far as the final but this match was twice postponed due to issues arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games. It was eventually played on Saturday, 14 August 2021, with Naomh Conaill winning a fifth title.
This was St Naul's return to the senior grade, after a seven-year exodus concluded with the club winning the 2019 Donegal Intermediate Football Championship. The club defeated Cloich Cheann Fhaola by 1–10 to 0–10 in the IFC final.

Team changes

The following teams changed division since the 2019 championship season.

To S.F.C.

Promoted from 2019 Donegal I.F.C.

From S.F.C.

Relegated to 2020 Donegal I.F.C.

Format alterations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 championship took a different format to previous editions of the competition. All 16 teams competed in a league competition, playing four games each. A random draw determined which teams faced each other in each of the four rounds. No team could meet each other twice in the group stage. Each team played two home games and two away games in this league phase. The top eight teams went into a seeded draw for the quarter-finals, while the bottom four teams entered a relegation play-off.

League stage

All 16 teams entered the competition at this stage. A random draw determined which teams faced each other in each of the four rounds. No team could meet each other twice in the group stage. The top eight teams went into a seeded draw for the quarter-finals, while the bottom three teams entered a relegation playoff. If teams were level on points and a place in the quarter-final was at stake, a playoff would have been conducted to determine which team went through.

Table

Round 1:
Round 2:
  • St Eunan's 1–9, 1-9 Cill Chartha, 7/8/2020Gaoth Dobhair 3-13, 0-6 Na Cealla Beaga, 8/8/2020
  • Termon 2–12, 2-16 Réalt na Mara, 8/8/2020Glenfin 1-14, 0-11 St Naul's, 8/8/2020
  • Milford 0–14, 1-14 St Michael's, 8/8/2020
  • Ard an Rátha 0–5, 0-18 Naomh Conaill, 9/8/2020
  • An Clochán Liath 0–11, 1-11 Seán MacCumhaills, 9/8/2020Glenswilly 2-14, 1-13 Four Masters, 9/8/2020
Round 3:Naomh Conaill 6-18, 0-8 Termon, 14/8/2020
  • Seán MacCumhaills 1–12, 1-12 Glenfin, 15/8/2020Four Masters 4-10, 1-14 An Clochán Liath, 1/8/2020
  • St Naul's 0–5, 4-11 Gaoth Dobhair, 1/8/2020Réalt na Mara 2-18, 1-12 Milford, 16/8/2020St Michael's 1-11, 0-12 Ard an Rátha, 16/8/2020Cill Chartha 4-24, 1-10 Glenswilly, 16/8/2020
  • Na Cealla Beaga 0–6, 3-13 St Eunan's, 16/8/2020
Round 4:
  • St Eunan's -vs- St Michael's, 23/8/2020
  • An Clochán Liath -vs- Na Cealla Beaga, 23/8/2020
  • Ard an Rátha -vs- Réalt na Mara, 23/8/2020
  • Termon -vs- St Naul's, 23/8/2020
  • Glenswilly -vs- Naomh Conaill, 23/8/2020
  • Milford -vs- Four Masters, 23/8/2020
  • Gaoth Dobhair -vs- Seán MacCumhaills, 23/8/2020
  • Glenfin -vs- Cill Chartha, 23/8/2020

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was held on 6 September, producing the same pairings as this stage of the previous competition.

Final

The final was originally scheduled for 19 September 2020. However, it emerged on 21 September that a Cill Chartha player had tested positive for the coronavirus; initially the game was announced to be proceeding as scheduled.
A short while later though, the final was postponed until 7 October. However, the GAA suspended all club fixtures with immediate effect on 5 October, citing "post-match celebrations and a lack of social distancing at certain events" elsewhere in the country as "disappointing and problematic".
Naomh Conaill retained the title, in the most controversial of circumstances, a 4–2 penalty shootout victory after extra-time on Saturday, 14 August 2021. Naomh Conaill's opponent lodged an appeal against the result on Tuesday, 17 August 2021.
Eventually Naomh Conaill's victory was allowed, though the club was fined.

Relegation play-offs

The four bottom-placed teams from the league phase entered the relegation play-offs. The 13th and 14th placed teams had home advantage in the relegation semi-finals and played the 16th and 15th placed teams respectively. The two winners maintained their senior status for 2021. The two losers contested a relegation final to determine which team would be relegated to the 2021 I.F.C.

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship

No Ulster Senior Club Football Championship was held, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh

No Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh was given, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

Television rights

The following matches were broadcast live on national television, unless otherwise indicated:
RoundRTÉTG4
League stage: Round 2—St Eunan's v Cill Chartha

League stage: Round 4 matches were all streamed live and free-to-air on Sunday 23 August.