The GAA are considering running the 2021 Championships from April to July next year – with no round robin in the hurling provinces and no Super 8’s in football.
The pre-season competitions would be abolished, with The National Hurling and Football Leagues getting underway in February. They are likely to be played on a regional basis.
The period after the Championship would then be used for club activity.
The changes are believed to be introduced to facilitate clubs around the country. With the inter county season ending in July, club games in all counties would be played in far better conditions than they are currently played in.
The alteration to the inter county format will also allow a significant rest period for inter county players who won’t start their season with their respective counties until February.
The hurling championship will be similar to this year’s format, with qualifiers in place for counties that are knocked out of the provincial championships.
It is unclear as to how the football championship will be set up. The most likely option will see a return to the qualifier system in place before the Super 8’s were introduced in 2018.
While both the round robin and super 8’s were heralded by all involved in the GAA as an opportunity to see more games for supporters and for players to have more games, a return to the older formats with changes in the dates that the games will be played is seen as the best option for both club and county sides.
