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On 22 September 2002, Derry won the championship following a 1-12 to 0-8 defeat of Meath in the All-Ireland final. This was their fourth All-Ireland title overall and their first in 13 championship seasons.
New format
Since its inception in 1929, the championship had always been played on a straight knock-out basis. If any team was defeated at any stage of the provincial or All-Ireland championships it meant automatic elimination. This system was deemed the fairest as the All-Ireland champions would always be the team who won all of their games.
After introducing a "back door" system in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship in 1997, a similar second chance system was now introduced for the football championship. Defeated provincial finalists would be allowed to re-enter the All-Ireland Championship at the quarter-final stage where they would be paired with a provincial champion and the chance to advance to the semi-final stage. While the format was criticised for giving a team no incentive for winning their respective provincial championship, the new format did provide an extra layer of games for developing young talent.