Intercounty panels given new December date for training return

The timing has been pushed back from the end of November after the scrapping of pre-season competitions.

The GPA’s call for November to effectively be a closed season for the inter-county game has also been endorsed by the GAA. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Counties will officially be permitted to return to inter-county training from December 7.

A remote meeting of Central Council earlier this week confirmed that the date has been pushed back from the end of November as a result of the pre-season competitions being disbanded.

A memo from Croke Park confirmed the switch while highlighting no games between counties can be arranged until January and a training moratorium is in place over the early part of the Christmas period.

It read: “The return to training has been confirmed for Saturday, December 7th, as agreed with the GPA (Gaelic Players Association) and approved by the GAA Central Council this evening. Please note that there will be no training from December 22nd to 27th during Christmas week. Challenge games will be allowed from January onwards.

“A pre-screening session over a weekend is permitted in October for medical assessments and distribution of S&C/running block programs.” 

The GAA have also endorsed the GPA’s call for November to be effectively a closed season for the inter-county game.

The circular continued: “The GPA is advocating for November to be a no-contact period, which players have strongly supported.

“All of this has been approved by top sports science professionals, allowing for individual preparation ahead of the pre-season, followed by six weeks of contact training before the first competitive game.” 

The early reaction to the new December return date has been generally positive, although football managers such as Cork’s John Cleary and Sligo’s Tony McEntee have aired concerns about the lack of preseason games with new football rules enforced from the start of next year’s Allianz Leagues.

It is expected the number of challenge games will balloon in January as football teams get to grips with the Football Review Committee’s proposals, which will be voted on at Special Congress on November 30.