Leagues will not be declared null and void yet

THE GAA is hold off on any decision on declaring the Allianz Leagues null and void. Despite speculation in the aftermath of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association’s announcement this week they had abandoned plans to complete their league that the GAA would follow suit, it is understood that the GAA’s CCCC are to adopt a ‘hold and wait’ position. Any decision on what to do with the league, which had reached the quarter-final stage in hurling and still had two rounds left in football as well as the divisional finals, will be determined on when the government, whose latest suspension on activity extends to April 19, gives the green light for sporting activity to resume. The GAA is not expected to declare league positions as they currently stand as final given that only two issues in football — Meath’s relegation from Division One and Louth’s demotion from Division Three — had been decided. One possibility is that the GAA could conclude the league in January next year, where it could be played to a finish instead of the pre-season competitions, with the AllIreland club finals reverting back to their traditional St Patrick’s Day date for one season. It is understood that the GAA have a number of fixtures plans in place, tailored specifically to when precisely the Government restrictions are relaxed. Meanwhile, Louth yesterday became the latest county to confirm that it had suspended activity for the full month of April, with a review to take place on April 26th.