Road to Croker is closed as provincial and All-Ireland Club series is cancelled
NA Gaeil will remain the All-Ireland Club Junior Football champions for two years after the GAA decided to cancel the provincial and All-Ireland stages of all the club football and hurling championships for the 2020/’21 season.
The late re-start to the club season as a result of the Covid-19 lock-down, and the compressed club and inter-county fixtures programme as a result, means all club action will end at the county final stage for 2020.
The news will be hardest felt by those senior clubs who would have a genuine ambition and chance of going all the way in the various club championships, with Kerry’s intermediate and premier junior champions always having a very strong chance of landing All-Ireland honours.
Earlier in the year Na Gaeil claimed the All-Ireland Junior Club title, which they will now hold on to for two years, until a new champion is crowned in 2022.
Kerry clubs have won the All-Ireland Junior title on 10 occasions since 2002, while the Intermediate Club title has come to Kerry six times since 2004.
At senior club level, Corofin will be denied the chance to win a fourth All-Ireland title in four years, but they will reign as All-Ireland champions for two years even though they could relinquish their Galway title in the coming months.
The closure of the road to Croker will be a disappointment for Kerry clubs, but that shouldn’t take from the club championships which start on July 25/26.
SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
EIGHT teams divided into two groups of four with top team in each group playing in the final. Relegation as per previous years. Date for the final may be brought forward by the CCC. Draws for the group stages are already made.
INTERMEDIATE AND PREMIER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
SIXTEEN teams divided into four groups of four with top two teams in each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. Promotion/Relegation as per previous years. Date for quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final may be brought forward by the CCC. Draws for the group stages are already made.
JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
SIXTEEN teams divided into four groups of four with top two teams in each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. Promotion/Relegation as per previous years. Date for quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final may be brought forward by the CCC.
Draws for preliminary round and group stages already made. A preliminary round game (Cromane v Ballylongford) will be fixed for July 18/19 with winners progressing to Round 1 which commences the following week.
NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIP
NO change to format from previous years. Open draw for Junior Championship group stage losers
and other qualified clubs.
For all games in the all four Club Championships, the CCC may and without the agreement of either team involved, change venue at short notice and play midweek games regardless of any ‘entitlements’ to home venue or weekend games.
Venues for Group stages as per previous years i.e. one home, one away & one neutral. Except where the CCC agrees to make an exception, a club that refuses to host a neutral club championship game will automatically lose their home game.
The change to allow two teams qualify from each Group is only applicable for this year’s championship. The rules and regulations for next year’s club championship will revert back to previous years unless changed by County Committee.