Cork ladies NFL title push is over
THE Cork footballers hopes of retaining their Ladies National Football League title, and extending their lead at the top of the NFL roll of honour, will have to wait until at least 2021 after the LGFA announced on Tuesday that the Lidl Ladies National Football League would not be completed.
The decision, though hardly unexpected or surprising, was confirmed just ahead of the Government announcement the same day that stricter rules and guidelines relating to the fight against the Coronavirus Covid-19 crisis.
Five rounds of the League had been completed before the suspension of all sporting activity came into place on the weekend of March 14/15. Cork were jointtop of Division One with Galway, both on 12 points. Galway took top spot on the table by virtue of a better scoring difference. Both counties were three points ahead of Mayo and five clear of fourth place Dublin, with just two rounds of fixtures left to complete.
The LGFA said that the TG4 Championship will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
“In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the prime concern for the
Ladies Gaelic Football Association at the present time is the health and well-being of our members. Consequently, a number of decision have been made in respect of LGFA competitions, which have not been taken lightly,” the statement from the LGFA read.
“The 2020 Lidl National Leagues have been cancelled for 2020, and will not be completed. The Lidl Post Primary Schools Competitions have also been cancelled for 2020, along with the LGFA Interprovincial Competition, the All Ireland Under 14 Championship, Féile na nÓg and Féile Skills.
“The 2020 TG4 All-Ireland Championships will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with Government regulations, while there is a possibility of provincial action in the Under 16 and Minor Championships, when LGFA activities resume. A number of development programmes are also postponed until LGFA activity resumes.”
Meanwhile, the Munster GAA Council has announced the postponement of the Munster Minor Football Championship, which was due to get underway at the beginning of April. No decision has yet been made on when the championship might go ahead and in what form.
The same applies to the senior hurling and football championships and the Under 20 hurling championship.
“The Electric Ireland Munster Minor Football Championship is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, April 8. With all GAA activity suspended at present until March 29, the Munster CCC (in consultation with all Munster counties) have agreed that when the current restrictions are lifted, counties will be given ample time to prepare their teams,” the Munster Council statement read.
“Based on the information to hand at this moment, the earliest start date for the Electric Ireland Munster Minor Football Championship will be Wednesday, April 22 with proposed fixtures re-fixed.
“If the ban on collective training and games is extended beyond March 29, then Munster GAA take the appropriate action, based on the information to hand at that stage. No decisions on the format/ scheduling of the other 2020 Munster Championship fixtures (senior hurling and football, U-20 hurling and minor hurling grades) can be made at this time until the current restrictions are lifted.”