All-Ireland SFC: 2020 competition to revert to straight knockout format
- Published
Dublin will be out to claim a sixth consecutive All-Ireland triumph
The 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship will be a knockout competition without qualifiers or a Super 8s series, BBC Sport understands.
It is expected that the hurling championship will contain qualifiers, allowing one extra chance for those teams who lose a game in their province.
The GAA, who will announce their plans next week, will seek to conclude the championships before the end of 2020, resisting the temptation to extend the campaign into next year.
With the season thrown completely off course by the Covid-19 pandemic which brought all GAA activity to a halt on 12 March, the Association has taken the decision to re-introduce a straight knockout format for the first time since 2000.
The backdoor system, which gave teams a second chance if they lost in their provincial series was introduced in 2001 while the new Super 8s round-robin quarter-final format was brought in two years ago.
The decision to bring back the knockout format for 2020 has already been advocated for by several notable voices within the GAA, including Armagh legend Oisin McConville.
Earlier in June the Association released its roadmap out of the Covid-19 pandemic, which earmarked 17 October for a return to inter-county action.
It is understood that the two remaining rounds of National League fixtures will be completed before the Championship begins.
The National Leagues were suspended in March after five rounds of fixtures
In an additional boost to the GAA, the Irish Government has announced that all sport can resume from 29 June, with up to 200 spectators allowed at outdoor events.
As it stands, GAA teams have been instructed to begin non-contact training from 29 June before beginning full contact preparations from 20 July - however it remains to be seen if the announcement will accelerate this process.
The Association might however be hesitant to move the process forward as six Ulster counties may be isolated by this move if the NI Executive's dates do not match those of the Irish Government.
Funding for sporting bodies
The Irish government announced on Friday that there will be 70 million euros of new funding for National Governing Bodies of Sport, Local Sports Partnerships and sports clubs in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
The funding is made up of four separate allocations, including 40 million euros for the three main field sports organisations - the GAA, Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union.
A Resilience Fund of up to 10 million euros has been provided to support the National Governing Bodies of Sport, while a club fund of 15 million euros and a Sport Restart and Renewal fund, of up to five million euros, have also been announced.
On Friday, the GAA released a statement which thanked the government for its funding and said it would review a return to activity "over the weekend".
"It is expected that the GAA's Advisory Committee will be able to advance its plans for a return to activity and various options will be considered at its next meeting, after which an update will be provided.
"The GAA would also like place on record its gratitude to the Government for the support package announced this evening.
"This funding will greatly assist our units in the weeks and months ahead as they prepare for a return to activity."