Cork was the third Munster county both to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), as well as to appear in the final, following Limerick and Tipperary.

Cork began the 1970s with three Munster titles in 4 years and the 1973 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

In 1983 Kerry was aiming to capture a record ninth consecutive Munster title; however, Cork pulled off one of their surprise victories.

In a close game, Cork emerged victorious by two points to claim a second consecutive championship.

They later faced old rivals, Meath, in the All-Ireland final; however, victory went to the Leinster men on that occasion.

While it was expected that the team would build on the success of 1999, Cork went into decline as Kerry began to dominate in Munster.

In 2005 Cork narrowly lost the Munster final but qualified for the All-Ireland semi-final where Kerry was again waiting.

In 2007 Cork lost their Munster crown to Kerry; however, they made use of the qualifiers and found themselves in the All-Ireland final.

The game started on a level pegging; however, Kerry ran riot and captured the title with a 3–13 to 1–9 victory.

In spite of this, Cork reached the All-Ireland SFC semi-final where they lost to old rivals Kerry after a replay.

In April 2010, Cork won the National Football League Division 1 title with a 1–17 to 0–12 win against Mayo at Croke Park, in front of a crowd of 27,005.

[1] On 19 September 2010, Cork won the All Ireland SFC football title, defeating Down at Croke Park by a scoreline of 0–16 to 0–15.

The Cork footballers have also shared a rivalry with Meath in the past, though the intensity of this lowered during the 2010s as the two teams did not meet in the Championship for a number of years following the 1999 All-Ireland Final.

The Cork footballers possibly don't get the same level of support as their hurling counterparts because of their comparative lack of success.

Cork and Kerry well always draw 30,000 plus and Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney is often a favorite among rebel supporters.

In 2009 large crowds attended games against, Limerick and Tyrone, as well as the All-Ireland final against Kerry, to see a Cork team that were considered to be serious title contenders.

1971: Ray Cummins 1972: Kevin Jer O'Sullivan 1973: Billy Morgan, Frank Cogan, Brian Murphy, Kevin Jer O'Sullivan2nd, Dinny Long, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Ray Cummins2nd 1974: Declan Barron, Jimmy Barry-Murphy2nd 1975: Dinny Long2nd 1976: Brian Murphy2nd, Dave McCarthy 1978: Declan Barron2nd 1980: Kevin Kehilly, Dinny Allen 1982: Kevin Kehilly2nd 1983: John Evans, Jimmy Kerrigan 1987: John Kerins, Colman Corrigan, Niall Cahalane, Larry Tompkins 1988: Colman Corrigan2nd, Niall Cahalane2nd, Shea Fahy, Larry Tompkins2nd 1989: Conor Counihan, Tony Davis, Teddy McCarthy, Dave Barry, Larry Tompkins3rd, Paul McGrath 1990: John Kerins2nd, Steven O'Brien, Mick Slocum, Conor Counihan2nd, Shea Fahy2nd, Paul McGrath2nd 1993: Joe Kavanagh, Colin Corkery 1994: Steven O'Brien2nd 1995: Mark O'Connor, Steven O'Brien3rd 1999: Kevin O'Dwyer, Anthony Lynch, Ciarán O'Sullivan, Philip Clifford 2002: Anthony Lynch2nd 2006: Ger Spillane, Nicholas Murphy 2007: Graham Canty 2009: Michael Shields, Graham Canty2nd, John Miskella, Pearse O'Neill, Daniel Goulding 2010: Michael Shields2nd, Paudie Kissane, Graham Canty3rd, Aidan Walsh 2012: Aidan Walsh2nd, Colm O'Neill Cork launched a new jersey ahead of the 2019 season, featuring a different sleeve and without white stripes down the side.

Cork admitted in early 2021 that it had concluded a five-year deal with Sports Direct in December 2020, following public reports ahead of the intended launch.

[17][18][19] Following publication, it was subsequently confirmed that all negotiations were held with Sports Direct's Dublin-based marketing division, with no involvement from the British part of the company or from Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of an English association football club with links to the company.