The 1985–86 National Football League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Ford National Football League, was the 55th staging of the National Football League (NFL), an annual Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland.
Laois won their second title to bridge a sixty-year gap.
Format
1985-86 saw a change in format of the National League. Divisions Three and Four were amalgamated into a new Division Three, which was split by region.
Divisions
Division One: 8 teams
Division Two: 8 teams
Division Three: 16 teams. Split into two regional groups of 8 (North and South)
Round-robin format
Each team played every other team in its division (or group where the division is split) once, either home or away.
Points awarded
2 points were awarded for a win and 1 for a draw.
Titles
Teams in all three divisions competed for the National Football League title.
Knockout stage qualifiers
Division One: top 4 teams
Division Two: top 2 teams
Division Three (North): group winners
Division Three (South): group winners
Knockout phase structure
In the quarter-finals, the match-ups were as follows: Quarter-final 1: First-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (South) Quarter-final 2: Second-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Three (North) Quarter-final 3: Third-placed team in Division One v Second-placed team in Division Two Quarter-final 4: Fourth-placed team in Division One v First-placed team in Division Two The semi-final match-ups are: Semi-final 1: Winner Quarter-final 1 v Winner Quarter-final 4 Semi-final 2: Winner Quarter-final 2 v Winner Quarter-final 3
The final match-up is: Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2.
Promotion and relegation
Division One: bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Two
Division Two: top 2 teams promoted to Division One. Bottom 2 teams demoted to Division Three. Division Three (North): group winners promoted to Division Two. Division Three (South): group winners promoted to Division Two.
Separation of teams on equal points
In the event that teams finish on equal points, then a play-off will be used to determine group placings if necessary, i.e. where to decide relegation places or quarter-finalists.