The Derry Intermediate Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the M&L Contracts Derry Intermediate Football Championship) is an annual competition between the mid-tier Gaelic football clubs affiliated to Derry GAA.

Format The competition traditionally took the structure of an open-draw knock-out.

In 2007 and 2008, the championship was altered to include a round robin, group structure with the 16 teams divided into four groups. Each club in a group played each other once with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-finals. From the quarter-finals onwards the competition took the format of a knock-out.

The format was changed once again for the 2009 Championship. The Derry Competitions Control Committee accepted a proposal to scrap the group stage and introduce a "backdoor" system. The 16 clubs play in the first round. In the second round the eight first round winners are drawn against each other, with the four winners going into bowl A for the quarter-finals. The eight first round losers are also drawn against each other and the four winners advance to the quarter-finals (in bowl B). Teams in bowl A are drawn out against teams from bowl B to make up the quarter-final draw. Thereafter the competition is an open-draw knock-out.

Honours The trophy awarded to the Derry IFC winning team is named after John Bateson (aged 19), James Sheridan (20) and Martin Lee (18), all members of the South Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died in an explosion in Magherafelt on 18 December 1971. All three men came from Ballymaguigan and played for the St Trea's GFC Ballymaguigan.

The winners of the Derry Intermediate Championship qualify to represent their county in the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship. It is the only team from the county to qualify for this competition. The Derry IFC winner may enter the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship at either the preliminary round or the quarter-final stage. They often do well there, with Steelstown (January 2022, following 2021 Derry IFC win), Craigbane (2000 and 2011) and Eoghan Rua, Coleraine (2006) all winning Ulster titles since the turn of the century, after winning the Derry Intermediate Football Championship. The winners can, in turn, go on to play in the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship, at which it would enter at the semi-final stage, providing it hasn't been drawn to face the British champions in the quarter-finals. Steelstown, for instance, won the 2022 All-Ireland title, after winning the Derry Intermediate Football Championship of the previous year.

List of finals Ulster FinalistsAlso won the Ulster Competition in the same seasonAlso won the Ulster and All-Ireland Competitions in the same season Year Winner Score Opponent Score Venue Winning captain 1971 Ballymaguigan 1-05 Greenlough 1-02 1972 Swatragh Dungiven 1973 Ballinascreen III 1974 Glack Drum 1975 Kilrea Sean O'Neill 1976 Greenlough Faughanvale 1977 Glenullin Desertmartin 1978 Faughanvale? R 0-10Ballinascreen B? R 0-01 Donal McElhinney 1979 Swatragh 1980 Glen Drumsurn 1981 Faughanvale0-13Ballymaguigan2-04 Donal McElhinney 1982 Slaughtneil 1983 Glen Drum 1984 Moneymore Drum 1985 Foreglen 1–10 Desertmartin 1-06 1986 Craigbane0-11 An Lúb1-03 1987 Craigbane2-05 R 0-11 Claudy1-08 R 0-09 1988 Slaughtmanus 0-07 R 0-08 Ballerin 0-07 R 1-04 1989 Limavady 0-07 Faughanvale 0-06 1990 Bellaghy0-06 R 4-09Faughanvale0-06 R 0-09 1991 Drumsurn1-14Desertmartin2-08 1992 Craigbane3-11Magilligan0-07 1993 Ballymaguigan 0-09 Dungiven 1-05 1994 An Lúb0-13Desertmartin1-08 1995 Craigbane1-08 Banagher 1-07 1996 Faughanvale0-11 Craigbane0-10 1997 Craigbane0-15 Claudy1-05 1998 Faughanvale0-09Claudy0-08 1999 Faughanvale1-10Drumsurn0-10 2000 Craigbane1-17Newbridge1-08 2001 Ballymaguigan 1–12 Moneymore 0-06 2002 Newbridge 2003 Ballymaguigan 0–13 Desertmartin 0–12 2004 Foreglen* 2005 Claudy Eoghan Rua 2006 Eoghan Rua Foreglen 2007 Newbridge Foreglen 2008Greenlough 1–10 Ballymaguigan 0-09 2009 Ballymaguigan 2-08 Greenlough 0–12 2010 Castledawson 0–11 Steelstown 0–10 2011Craigbane 0-09 Swatragh 0-08 2012 Swatragh Foreglen 2013 Foreglen 3-09 Glen Maghera 1–11 2014 Castledawson 0-07 Slaughtmanus 0-06 2015 Greenlough 2–17 Craigbane 0-09 2016 Castledawson 0–15 Steelstown 1–11 2017 Newbridge 1-09 Faughanvale 1-04 2018 Banagher 1–12 Ballymaguigan 1-08 2019 Foreglen 0–15 Claudy 0-09 2020 Greenlough 1–12 Steelstown 1-08 2021Steelstown 0-09 Greenlough 0-08 2022 Glenullin 0–15 Drumsurn 1–11Brian Mullan2023Glenullin2-11 A.E.TBanagher1-11 A.E.T Neil McNicholl Traglach Bradley2024Ballinderry1-13 R 0-13Faughanvale2-10 R 0-10 Gareth McKinless2025Glenullin2-16Foreglen2-13Daniel O'Kane Traglach Bradley

The 2004 final went unplayed, Foreglen were awarded that year's title.

Wins listed by club

# Club Wins Years won Runner Up Years Runner Up 1 Craigbane 7 1986 1987 1992 1995 1997 2002 2011 2 1996 2015 2 Faughanvale 5 1978 1981 1996 1998 1999 5 1976 1989 1990 2017 2024Ballymaguigan51971 1993 2001 2003 200931981 2008 20183Foreglen41985 2004 2013 201942006 2007 2012 2025Greenlough41976 2008 2015 202031971 2009 2021Glenullin41977 2022 2023 202504Newbridge32002 2007 201812000Swatragh31972 1979 201212011Castledawson32010 2014 201605Glen21980 1983120136Claudy1200541987 1997 1998 2019Drumsurn1199131980 1999 2022Steelstown1202032010 2016 2020Banagher1201821995 2023Loup1199411986Moneymore1198412001Slaughtmanus1198812014Eoghan Rua1200612005Ballinascreen III119730Glack119740Kilrea119750Slaughtniel119820Limavady119890Bellaghy119900Ballinascreen120240Desertmartin051977 1985 1991 1994 2003Drum031974 1983 1984Dungiven021972 1993Ballinascreen B011978Ballerin011988Magilligan011992

References