Beating Dublin in Sunday’s Leinster semi-final may be the only way for Kildare to avoid the Tailteann Cup.
That’s because an Offaly win over Louth in the other semi-final, which is the curtain raiser at Croke Park, would guarantee the midlanders a place in the new-look All-Ireland SFC group stage as one of the eight provincial finalists.
The same applies with Down, who play Armagh in the Ulster semi-final, which throws in the same time (4pm) as the Dublin-Kildare game.
READ MORE: Nigel Dunne's prayer to Liam Kearns answered as he starred in Offaly win over Meath
Already, two teams from next year’s Division Three, Sligo and Clare, have reached provincial finals and Offaly and Down are in a position to emulate them, which has potential implications for both Kildare and Cork, who finished fifth and fourth in Division Two respectively.
If either Offaly or Down are victorious this weekend, Kildare would be the next team in line to drop down while if both of them were to win Cork would also be playing Tailteann Cup football for the remainder of the season.
Meath have already suffered the same fate despite staying in Division Two as Clare’s wins over Cork and Limerick to reach the Munster final meant that they would displace them in the All-Ireland SFC once Colm O’Rourke’s side failed to get to a Leinster final, which duly came to pass as they lost to Offaly at the quarter-final stage on Sunday.
Of course, Kildare are still technically in control of their own destiny as reaching a Leinster final would safeguard their top tier status but given Dublin’s total dominance of Leinster and the fact that they haven’t lost to Kildare in Championship football for 23 years, that prospect would seem rather remote.
Cork, meanwhile, can only hope that either Offaly or Down fall short this weekend as their fate is out of their hands having already been eliminated from the Munster Championship.
The GAA is to press ahead with the draws for the group stages of the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup competitions on Tuesday of next week, once the provincial final pairings are known.
READ NEXT:
Leinster and Ireland's Jack Conan on battling hormone imbalance: "I felt like I had aged 10 years"
Shamrock Rovers to offer Jack Byrne new contract after fending off MLS interest
Conor McGregor consoles Ryan Garcia after loss to Gervonta Davis
Roy Keane "disappointed" with John Egan's involvement in Manchester City goal
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
