Westmeath drawn with big guns in Leinster U20 championship
Westmeath have been handed a daunting challenge in the 2024 Leinster Under-20 Football Championship, having been drawn in a group with traditional powerhouses Dublin and Meath.
The championship will be contested by eleven counties, with Kilkenny the obvious exception, and Westmeath are in the group containing three teams. The remaining eight teams are divided into two groups of four.
Westmeath will face Dublin in their opening game, scheduled to be played on Tuesday, March 26, before meeting Meath on April 2.
The top two teams will advance to the knockout stages which means Westmeath will probably need to beat either Meath or Dublin to advance, though a draw in one of the games might be enough depending on other results.
In the 2023 Leinster U-20 FC, Westmeath defeated eventual Leinster and All-Ireland champions Kildare in their opening group game (2-10 to 0-10). Damien Gavin's charges followed that up with a win over Wexford, but bowed out at the quarter-final stage at the hands of Meath amid difficult conditions in Ashbourne (0-8 to 1-3).
Gavin is still in charge but he and his team have been given a difficult path in the 2024 campaign.
Teams who do not qualify for the knockout stages (with the exception of Dublin, Kildare and Meath) will be eligible to participate in a provincial second tier competition, with the winners participating in an All-Ireland series.
Westmeath have never reached a Leinster U-20 final since this competition replaced the old U-21 grade in 2018. The Lake County's last Leinster U-21 success came in 2000 (winners over Meath in the final), while Westmeath last contested the final in 2010.
Meanwhile, in the 2024 Leinster Minor Football Championship, Westmeath have been drawn in a group with Louth, Meath and Kildare.
Westmeath will take on Louth on Wednesday, March 27, before facing Kildare (Wednesday, April 3) and Meath (Saturday, April 13).
If Westmeath manage to finish top of their group, they will go straight through to the semi-finals; a second place finish will secure passage to one of the two quarter-finals; and third place will be sufficient to earn a place in the preliminary quarter-finals.
In the 2023 Leinster MFC, Westmeath lost all their group games against Meath, Louth and Dublin, with the defeat to the Wee County in Ardee particularly disappointing as it ended any hopes of progress.
Eoghan Kevlihan will be Westmeath minor football manager again in 2024, having served his first year in charge in 2023.
There have been changes to his backroom team, with former Westmeath football star Joe Fallon (Athlone) and Ryan Jones (St Loman’s, Mullingar) now involved as selectors/coaches.
In a new departure, the 2024 MFC All-Ireland series will have three tiers. In order to compete in the first tier, teams will need to reach their provincial final as this tier will consist of the four provincial champions and the four provincial finalists.
The second tier will contain four teams from Leinster - the two defeated semi-finalists and the two defeated quarter-finalists.
The third tier will feature five teams from Leinster - three teams that did not get out of their groups and the two defeated preliminary quarter-finalists.
In Tiers 2 and 3, Leinster teams may be drawn against each other in the early stages subject to not having met in the Leinster championship.
LEINSTER UNDER-20 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP 2024
Group 1: Kildare, Longford, Louth, Offaly.
Group 2: Carlow, Laois, Wexford, Wicklow.
Group 3: Dublin, Meath, Westmeath.
Group 3 fixtures
Round 1 - March 26: Westmeath v Dublin.
Round 2 - April 2: Meath v Westmeath.
Leinster quarter-finals: Group 2 winner v Group 3 runner-up; Group 1 runner-up v Group 2 runner-up.
Leinster semi-finals: Group 1 and 3 winners plus quarter-final winners (no repeat pairings if possible).
Leinster final: Monday, April 29 (TG4), 7.30pm.
All-Ireland semi-finals: Leinster v Munster; Connacht v Ulster.
All-Ireland final: May 18/19.
LEINSTER TIER 2 UNDER-20 COMPETITION
Quarter-final (if required, April 16)
(a) Fourth Group 1 v Fourth Group 2
Semi-finals (April 23)
(b) Winners (a) v Third Group 3
(c) Third Group 2 v Third Group 1
Final: April 30.
All-Ireland semi-finals (May 11/12): Leinster v Munster; Connacht v Ulster.
All-Ireland final: May 18/19.
LEINSTER MINOR FC 2024
Group 1: Dublin, Laois, Longford, Offaly.
Group 2: Kildare, Louth, Meath, Westmeath.
Group 3: Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow.
Group 2 fixtures
Round 1 - March 27: Louth v Westmeath, Meath v Kildare.
Round 2 - April 3: Westmeath v Kildare, Louth v Meath.
Round 3 - April 13: Westmeath v Meath, Kildare v Louth.
Preliminary quarter-finals (April 24)
Third in Group 1 v Group 3 winners
Third in Group 2 v Group 3 runner-up
Leinster quarter-finals: May 1
Leinster semi-finals: May 7
Leinster final: May 20, live on TG4.