GAA 2021 county and club schedule unveiled
Meath footballers and hurlers will return to action in May subject to easing of restrictions it was confirmed by the GAA today with the updated Master Fixtures Calendar for the 2021 season released by Croke Park.
The 2020 Minor and U-20 Hurling Championships and Minor Football Championships will be finalised when there is clarity on a return to training / play date.
The 2021 Minor and U-20 Football and Hurling Championships will also be finalised when there is clarity on a return to training / play date.
Club football and hurling and provincial club will be played from September to December.
Firstly, the inter-county fixtures will be completed in a 20-week period.
This is scheduled to guarantee a minimum of five games for each senior football and hurling team with all bar three counties guaranteed six games in hurling.
The inter-county season will run from the weekend of 8th / 9th May with the start of the National Hurling League to the weekend of 28th / 29th August when the All-Ireland football final will be played.
The Provincial football and hurling championships will start on the 26th / 27th June.
The 2021 All-Ireland club finals are scheduled for February 2022.
Club championships can begin once a county has been eliminated from the championship.
2021 NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Starting on Saturday 15th May to conclude on Sunday 20th June with Divisions split into North and South as originally planned in December.
Four teams will be in each group based on geography with three Round Robin games per team. The top two in each divisional group will advance to the league semi-finals followed by a league final.
The bottom two in each divisional group will play relegation semi-finals with the two losers of those matches relegated. The bottom teams in Division 4 will play a Shield semi-final and final.
Meath will face Mayo, Westmeath and Down in Div 2 North while Div 2 South will comprise Cork, Laois, Clare and Kildare.
League finals will only be played on 19th / 20th June if counties involved are not playing in the championship the following weekend. If they are, then joint-winners will be declared for Div 1 and joint-winners and promotion for Div 2, 3, and 4.
London will not be participating.
NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE
Divisions 1 and 2 will run from 8th / 9th May to 13th June.
Division 3 from 15th / 16th May to 20th June.
There will be no Div 1 quarter-finals, semi-finals or final played. There will either be joint- winners for 2021, or or if the teams that win Div 1A and Div 1B meet in the championship, this will double as a League final.
The Div 1 relegation play-off will be played as curtain raiser to senior hurling semi-final in August.
Div 2 and Div 3 will not have finals either. The top team in each grade will be crowned champions. The bottom team in Div 2A, 2B and 3A will be relegated.
British based teams will not be involved.
London and Warwickshire will start 2022 in Divisions 2B and 3A respectively; Lancashire in 3B.
ALL-IRELAND SFC
The 2021 All-Ireland SFC will be played as a straight knock-out competition from the provincial series forward.
There will be no qualifiers and New York and London will not be involved.
There will be no Tailteann Cup in 2021.
ALL-IRELAND SHC
There will be a provincial knock-out championship with back-door qualifiers as in 2020, but now also with the introduction of relegation to the Joe McDonagh Cup.
There will be a preliminary round in the qualifiers between the two defeated quarter-final teamS in Leinster with the winners progressing to Round 1 of the Qualifiers and the losers relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2022.
Competing counties
Munster: Limerick, Waterford, Tipperary, Clare, Cork.
Leinster: Kilkenny, Galway, Wexford, Dublin, Laois, Antrim.
JOE MCDONAGH CUP
The competing teams - Kerry, Westmeath, Meath, Carlow, Kildare, Down - will be split into two three-team groups with each team playing one home and one away match.
The top team in each group advance to the final which will be played on Saturday 17th July - the same day as the Leinster SHC final - and broadcast live on TV.
The Joe McDonagh Cup winners will promoted in 2021 but will not have a back door into the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
If Kerry win the 2021 Joe McDonagh Cup they will play in Leinster in 2022 and replace the team relegated from the Leinster Championship this year.
Christy Ring Cup - Roscommon, Sligo, Wicklow, Derry Offaly.
Nickey Rackard Cup - Donegal, Mayo, Leitrim, Armagh, Tyrone.
Lory Meagher Cup - Monaghan, Longford, Louth, Cavan, Fermanagh.
The only change to what was announced in December is that British based teams will not be involved. The British based teams will begin the 2022 season in the same Cup they were due to play in in 2021. The three competitions will be played on the following basis.
Two sides to the draw:
Group A - three teams drawn on an open draw basis (each team plays 2 games)
Group B - Two teams play in one fixture
Quarter-Final/Relegation play-off: Bottom team from A v Loser of B (loser relegated – exception: Meagher Cup)
Semi Finals: Top two teams from Group A are drawn to play against Winner of Group B and Winner of Quarter Final/Relegation play-off
2021 Club Window Provisions
It is important to note that the GAA still does not have permission to return to club training or games with only training in pods of 14 allowed in the North.
However, the calendar is set up in such a way that:
Club competitions with county players can take place as county teams exit the championships (in football, teams start exiting from the end of June; in hurling from 10th July. (RESTRICTIONS PERMITTING)
From 1st August, all counties bar All-Ireland semi-finalists in football and hurling, and the teams in the Div 1 hurling relegation play-off, will be free to stage club competitions with county players. (RESTRICTIONS PERMITTING)
Additionally, the commencement of the Provincial club championships will be delayed until mid-November.
Provinces have been requested to ensure clubs from teams in the senior inter-county All-Ireland semi-finals and finals will not be involved in the earliest round of the relevant Provincial championship (where possible).
Senior Provincial Club Championship will most likely start in or around the weekend 20th /21st November (dates to be finalised by each Provincial Council).
All Ireland Senior Club Finals are provisionally scheduled for the weekend of 12th / 13th February 2022.