By Niall Gartland

THE Ulster U-20 Football Championship will be played under a new group stage format in line with the changes made last year to the provincial minor competition.

The championship will now be played under broadly similar lines at u-20 level with one group of five (Monaghan, Antrim, Tyrone, Down and Derry) and another group of four (Donegal, Fermanagh, Cavan and Armagh).

Teams play each other once in the group and the top team in each group progress to the semi-finals. The second and third placed teams criss-cross and play each other in two quarter-finals.

The winners of those two quarter-finals progress to the semis while the losers are eliminated. The two teams that lose at the semi-final juncture are also eliminated.

Finally, the three teams that finished in fourth and fifth position are eliminated from the Ulster Championship and enter the new tier three competition at All-Ireland level.

The championship will be played across March and April with the exact fixture details yet to be confirmed.