GAA officials redrawing League and Championship calendars

Leading GAA officials are bracing themselves for a month’s delay to the start of the inter-county season.

Round 1 of the Allianz Leagues, originally fixed for February 27 and 28, is set to take place at the end of March with a number of changes to the competitions expected to reflect the tighter timeframe.

Consequently, the Championship is to be put back by two to four weeks from its original April 17 start date. Free weekends built into the Allianz League window could be used to speed up the completion of the GAA’s second biggest competition. The intention is to retain the two-week gap between the leagues and the start of the provincial championships.

Such a delay would mean one or both All-Ireland finals taking place in August - the hurling final had been scheduled for the weekend of July 11 with the football decider a week later. As has been reported, the impact on the club period will likely mean the 2021 All-Ireland club semi-finals, slated in for December, are pushed into January 2022.

It has been widely agreed counties would be given a four-week preparation period prior to the return of games but that could be reduced by a week should inter-county training not resume until March 5. 

A decision on when inter-county squads can go back to collective training will be made in the coming days.

To accommodate the postponed start, the Irish Examiner understands the GAA’s Central Competition Control Committee are considering reshaping the Allianz Hurling League format on a geographical basis similar to the football competition. The 12 Division 1 and 2 teams could be divided into groups of three according to proximity.

No changes to the format of the Liam MacCarthy and Sam Maguire Cups are expected at the moment. Both are to be played on a qualifier basis with the addition of the Tailteann Cup in football. 

Those teams in Division 3 and 4 at the end of this year’s competition who fail to reach their respective provincial final will go into the B competition instead of the backdoor.

As provincial champions, current Division 3 teams Cavan and Tipperary have exemptions and will be granted qualifier spots should they fail to reach the Ulster and Munster finals. 

The provincial championship draws are set to be broadcast by RTÉ over a number of days on the week of February 8.