The GAA's Fixture Calendar Review Taskforce met tonight to begin the process of examining a split season and the possible wider implications for the association.
RTÉ Sport understands that the earliest possible implementation of a split season, if approved, would be 2022.
This is contingent on the motion getting central approval and then subsequently getting sufficient support at year’s Congress.
Before any of that could take place, careful consideration will now be given to the issue of split calendars for inter-county and club, plus a number of other fixture proposals.
If the taskforce’s final proposals are approved by the GAA’s Central Council, they will likely be considered at Annual Congress in 2021.
The discussion around having two separate windows was well debated at tonight’s meeting, after significant momentum built in recent weeks regarding splitting club and inter-county fare.
There has been widespread coverage of the double-window concept over the past fortnight with the plan to press for inter-county action to begin in February and end in July, thereby facilitating the start of club championships in summer.
Those draft plans have been well received by the public and tonight, for the first time since the 2020 Annual Congress, the Fixtures Calendar Review Taskforce met and began the examination of a split season and its potential effects.
With Special Congress postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions, the committee used tonight’s virtual meeting to review the progress they had previously made in trying to draw up a new fixtures blueprint.
A comprehensive study of the split season proposal – and other issues – will now take place in the coming months.
The taskforce will also review the existing proposals on variety of fixture-related issues.
These include optimal dates for Under-20 football and hurling, and the possibility of not having All-Ireland semi-finals for the Under-20 hurling competition. Eligibility for this championship will also be considered.
Secondary and third-level fixture proposals will also be deliberated, as will the motion to have a maximum of 16 teams in county championships.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a closed season will also be examined. This proposal has been under consideration by various stakeholders in the Fixtures Taskforce for some time.
