Congress set to consider radical overhaul of fixture calendar

THE senior inter-county calendar could be in for a serious pruning at Special Congress in Sligo this weekend if a number of motions are accepted.

High-ranking association officials have been vocal in their determination to loosen the noose that a jam-packed inter-county scene has placed around the club scene’s neck for some months now and the wider appetite for change will become clear in the coming days.

Three of the first seven motions on the clár on Saturday could affect the inter-county game if adopted, the first of them being Motion 2 which calls for the Allianz NFL and NHL competitions to be completed inside an eight-week window. This alone would be a significant move as this year’s football league will take 12 weeks from first round to the divisional finals, spanning the months of February, March and April. The hurling league will take just two weeks less.