GAA: No inter-county fixtures to be held before October

All GAA activity has been suspended since 12 March

The GAA has confirmed that there will be no inter-county fixtures before October.

The governing body remains hopeful that both club and county games will be held this year, but acknowledged an apparent "lack of appetite" for matches being held behind closed doors.

All on-field activity will remain postponed until at least 20 July, in line with the advice issue by the Irish government last week, while the Association has set-up a Covid-19 advisory group.

The group, led by existing Health and Safety group chair Shay Bannon, will advise on future return to play protocols.

The GAA's announcement comes following a remote meeting involving officials from all 32 counties on Wednesday.

Last Friday Taoiseach Leo Varadkar paved the way for a potential resumption of GAA activity from 20 July, adding that the All-Ireland Championships could conceivably go ahead later in the year, albeit behind closed doors.

"The GAA notes and welcomes the plans published by the government last Friday and some of the dates included relating to the possible return of sporting activity, including Gaelic games," said the Association on Wednesday.

"The Association will attempt to seek clarity around some of the issues that have arisen in internal discussions since last Friday including the challenge of social distancing in contact sport."

While an optimistic note was sounded in terms of returning to on-field activity before the end of the year, the idea of playing without fans is likely to provoke considerably more debate before the GAA makes a final decision.

Dublin celebrated their fifth consecutive All-Ireland SFC triumph in front of a packed Croke Park last year

It is currently not clear when sporting events will once again be held in front of full crowds.

"While not categorically ruling out the possible staging of games behind closed doors later in the year, there appears to be a lack of appetite for this type of fixture-scheduling at the current time across the wider Association," read the statement.

"Counties are asked, in the interest of players, to suspend all inter-county training until further notice. There will be a phased resumption of training at both club and county level to allow players to prepare appropriately for playing games."

Fears that the GAA could stand to lose up to 60m euros if the 2020 All-Ireland Championships were to be cancelled will no doubt create a considerable drive to ensure that the tournaments go ahead.

However there have also been calls from within the organisation, including from Connacht GAA President Gerry McGovern, that the 2020 competitions should effectively be abandoned on the grounds of health and safety concerns.