GAA All-Ireland Football Final Preview with Outright Winners Prediction (2022)

The 2022 All-Ireland Football Provincial Championships got underway on the 17th of April, with the Munster, Leinster, Connacht, and Ulster finals completed on the weekend of the 28th and 29th of May. The opening round of qualifiers for 2022 All Ireland Championship followed shortly after and commenced on the 4th of June. The prestigious final is still more than a month away with it scheduled to take place on Friday the 24th of July.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at teams most likely to prevail this year, while unveiling our own prediction for the 2022 All Ireland Football Championships!

🔥 The 2022 Bookmakers’ Favourites

As you can see, we’re backing 37-times All Ireland Football winners Kerry to add to their haul in 2022, and it appears as though the bookies agree with us! So, here’s a breakdown of our listed sportsbook and their odds of Kerry winning the title.

1️⃣ BoyleSports

We’ll start with BoyleSports, who are offering live odds of 2.25 (5/4) on Kerry winning the 2022 All Ireland Senior Football title. This means that a €10 stake will see you earn €22.50, including the initial amount laid out.

This offers the best value for money on our list, while you can use this wager to unlock a €20 free bet at BoyleSports. The minimum odds in play here are 2.0, so a bet on Kerry fits comfortably within this criteria.

2️⃣ Ladbrokes

At Ladbrokes, you can currently get odds of 2.25 (5/4) on Kerry winning the All Ireland Football title. A successful €10 wager here will earn you a cool €22.50.

When you sign up for a Ladbrokes account, deposit at least €5 and place a win or each-way bet with odds of 1.5 or above and you’ll receive four free €5 wagers. So, a bet on Kerry can unlock some complimentary wagers to on the 2022 All Ireland Championships.

3️⃣ William Hill

William Hill have followed Ladbrokes by offering odds of 2.875 on a Kerry win, earmarking them as the clear favourites among Ireland’s leading sportsbooks.

Once again, backing Kerry can help to unlock the welcome offer at William Hill, which comprises two free €15 wagers that are credited after the settlement of your first bet.

4️⃣ Betway

One of Europe and Ireland’s best-known betting brands, Betway has also priced Kerry at 2.25 (5/4) to prevail this year. So, a €10 bet will earn you €22.50 in total, which is more than competitive in the current marketplace.

At present, Betway is awarding you a free bet up to the value of €30 as a new customer. To unlock, simply deposit an amount and make an identical qualifying bet up to €30, on any selection with minimum odds of 1.75. The good news is that you can wager on Kerry to win as part of your qualifying bet!

5️⃣ Unibet

Currently, Unibet are offering odds of 2.25 (5/4) that Kerry will win the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. So, if you place a €10 back bet on Kerry to win and ‘The Kingdom’ are successful you’ll recoup €22.50 including your stake.

Unibet’s existing welcome offer will see you receive up to €40 cash back in the form of a free bet if your first sports wager loses. So, your All Ireland Football bet could serve as a qualifying wager that helps you to unlock some free stake money.

6️⃣ BetVictor

BetVictor have priced Kerry at 2.375 (11/8) to win the 2022 iteration of the tournament, with this offering a little more value to punters. In fact, the same €10 stake here will win you €23.75 in total, although this price is liable to shorten as the tournament progresses.

BetVictor’s welcome offer comprises a 100% matched free bet up to the value of €100. To qualify, you’ll need to place a qualifying wager with minimum odds of 2.0, such as betting on Kerry to lift the Sam Maguire cup.

7️⃣ 888Sport

888Sport are offering similar odds of 2.25 on Kerry to win this years’ All Ireland title, meaning a potential payout of €22.50 could be earned by a single €10 stake.

You can also wager on Kerry to win here as part of the operator’s welcome offer. Simply opt into the bonus using the promo code ‘TOP100’, with the funds applied once an initial deposit amount of at least €10 has been wagered twice at cumulative odds of at least 1.50.

💯 A Look at the 2022 All Ireland Championship Odds

We can see that Kerry are favourites and backable at an average price of 6/5 to win the 2022 All Ireland Championships, while Dublin are considered to be their closest rivals at around 5/2.

Below, we’ve prepared a full list of odds published by our leading sportsbooks, so that you can make a more informed decision overall.

Team
Kerry	5/4	5/4	5/4	5/4	5/4	11/8
Dublin	2/1	15/8	2/1	15/8	2/1	7/4
Mayo	8/1	9/1	8/1	8/1	TBA	10/1
Galway	10/1	10/1	10/1	10/1	10/1	10/1
Derry	11/1	10/1	10/1	11/1	10/1	10/1
Armagh	20/1	20/1	22/1	20/1	22/1	20/1
Donegal	20/1	20/1	20/1	20/1	22/1	25/1
Cork	80/1	100/1	100/1	80/1	100/1	100/1
Roscommon	100/1	66/1	50/1	80/1	80/1	66/1
Kildare	150/1	150/1	100/1	150/1	80/1	100/1
Clare	200/1	200/1	150/1	200/1	200/1	500/1
Limerick	1000/1	500/1	500/1	500/1	500/1	500/1

Clearly, Kerry and Dublin are overwhelming favourites to prevail this year, with every other side representing obvious outside bets.

🔍 An Introduction to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The All Ireland Senior Football Championships were instituted in 1887, with the 2022 iteration set to be the 135th contested.

As we can see, Kerry remains the single most successful county in the tournament’s history, with the Munster side seven titles clear of their nearest rivals Dublin. Here’s a breakdown of historical performance among the best counties.

While Kerry may have history on their side in the All Ireland Senior Football Championships, we can see that they’ve only lifted the title once since 2010. Conversely, their historic rivals Dublin have won the Championship eight times during the same period, while the Dubs will also face Kildare in the Leinster Provincial final on the 28th of May. However, Kerry’s outstanding league form earmarks them as the team to beat in 2022, despite their recent failings (and undeniable bad luck) once they’ve reach championship level.

📈 Kerry’s Form and the Upcoming Fixture

Kerry were truly exceptional during the 2022 National League, winning five of their seven games in impressive style and maintaining the meanest defence before vanquishing Mayo in a one-sided final. They then continued this form with a thumping 0-23 to 0-11 win over Cork in the semi-final of the Munster Championship, with the kicking of Sean O’Shea pivotal as The Kingdom overcame a real test away from home.

Below, you can see the draw for the main knockout stages of the All Ireland Championship, which will pit the four provincial champions against the teams that emerge from the two qualifying rounds that will take place between the 4th and 12th of June.

The bottom half of the quarter final draw features both the eventual Munster champions and their counterparts from Leinster, potentially creating a mouth-watering semi-final clash between Kerry and Dublin (who have won 67 of the 134 All Ireland crowns between them).

Dublin are the second favourites, so the winner of such a clash would be odds-on to lift the 2022 All Ireland title. Remember, the defending champions Tyrone aren’t yet guaranteed a place in the All Ireland knockout stages, having been defeated 0-10 – 1-18 by Derry in the Ulster quarter-finals.

⭐Upcoming Fixtures

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final

🏁 A Look Back at the 2021 Championships

Of course, critics will suggest that Kerry were in impressive form for much of the 2021 season too, even thrashing Munster rivals Cork 4-22 to 1-9 in the provincial final. Defender Brian O’Beaglaoich began the goalscoring rout at a packed Fitzgerald Stadium, before Paul Gearney (2) and Sean O’Shea added further strikes in the third quarter.

However, Kerry were stunned by eventual champions Tyrone in the All-Ireland Semi-Finals. Tyrone gave a magnificent fightback from 0-15 to 1-10 down in the 68th minute. They were subsequently overpowered in extra time, as Kerry once again were handed a defeat with the final score 0-22 to 3-14.

Still, returning coach Jack O’Connor has maintained the side’s attacking excellence while improving its defence, with Kerry conceding the least in the National League and now much better placed to cope with the likes of Dublin in the All-Ireland Championships.

🏐 Kerry’s Key Players

In addition to O’Connor’s excellent coaching, Kerry also boasts some of the best and most coveted players across all four provinces. We’ve outlined three of the best below, while asking how they may contribute to Kerry’s success in 2022.

✔️ David Clifford

Kerry’s attack is certainly to be feared, with two Kingdom players featuring in the top six scorers during the 2022 National League. Top of the list was the talismanic David Clifford, who plundered two goals and 38 points in total.

He was also instrumental in the recent triumph over Cork, while his career total of 19 goals and 178 points since joining Kerry in 2018 earmark him as one of the most consistent scorers in the league.

Arguably, his injury during last years’ semi-final defeat to Tyrone was crucial to the eventual outcome too, especially as he’d already scored 0-8 prior to his withdrawal and remained a significant threat as ‘The Red Hands’ began to press.

✔️ Paudie Clifford

David’s namesake Paudie was the standout performer across all four provincial championships in 2021.

He certainly pulled the strings during Kerry’s demolitions of Clare, Tipperary and Cork on the way to the All Ireland semis, while he also led the line superbly in the absence of David Clifford to drag the game against Tyrone into extra time.

He’ll be similarly crucial to Kerry’s hopes in 2022, particularly given the effectiveness of his partnership with the brilliant Sean O’Shea in the attacking third.

✔️ Sean O’Shea

Interestingly, Paudie Clifford edged out O’Shea by earning selection for the 2021 GAA Team of the Year, but the forward has managed to maintain his level of consistency through the 2022 National League and Munster Championships.

To this end, O’Shea was the sixth highest scorer in the Allianz National League this season, scoring a total of two goals and 27 points during The Kingdom’s successful campaign. He achieved this despite missing the end of the season with a toe injury, which he has fully recovered from as the Munster final approaches.

He certainly completes the best attacking triumvirate in the All Ireland Championships, and this firepower could finally propel Kerry to their first title in eight years.

🔮 Our 2022 GAA All Ireland Senior Football Championships Prediction

As we can see, 37-time All-Ireland winners Kerry have continually flirted with success since their last title in 2014, combining devastating attacking displays with occasional collapses, costly defensive mistakes, and some incredible instances of bad luck.

However, their form throughout the 2022 Allianz National League and Munster Championships has been remarkably consistent, with new and returning Coach Jack O’Connor having fortified the side’s defence while striking a harmonious balance between the backline and the midfield.

Sure, Kerry have to overcome Limerick in the Munster Provincial final next week, while a potential All Ireland semi-final with 2020 and 30-time winners Dublin will also push The Kingdom to their maximum.

Regardless, there remains a sense that Kerry would have won in 2021 were it not for David Clifford’s ill-timed injury in the semi-final versus Tyrone. This, coupled with the county’s incredible form and individual quality (especially in attack), mean that we’re backing them to win their 38th crown and first since 2014 this year!