All-Ireland Championships: 2020 competitions should not go ahead says Connacht chief
- Published
All GAA activity has been suspended since 12 March
Connacht GAA President Gerry McGovern has called for the 2020 All-Ireland Championships to be cancelled amid ongoing Covid-19 concerns.
Speaking to RTE,, external McGovern said the risk of the virus remained too great, and that he favoured the GAA focusing on planning for next year instead.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said last week that Gaelic games may be able to return from 20 July as part of the country's phased reopening, paving the way for the Championship to be played, albeit behind closed doors.
Last week, Varadkar set out a five stage roadmap for the easing of restrictions, starting from 18 May and taking Ireland to a 'new normal' by August.
Should the All-Ireland Championships resume, they would do so in a condensed format with games in the early rounds of the competition, and the provincial tournaments, unable to be held.
There are fears that the GAA could lose up to 60m euro should the tournament not go ahead, however McGovern has argued that the safety of all involved must be guaranteed before play can resume.
"Players would still make contact in training, in the dressing-room and your run the risk then of leaving that environment and possibly bringing something home to your child, parents, grandparents," he said.
"That's the situation as I see it. We are very deep in the Covid-19 pandemic at the moment and we just don't know enough about it to be thinking of returning to action anytime soon."