GAAGO.ie will again stream a substantial portion of Allianz League games in 2021, it has been announced.
The service, a joint venture between the GAA and RTÉ, will exclusively host 54 games across all four divisions of the Allianz Football League, and Divisions 1A and 1B Hurling. Any game from those divisions that is not televised will be available for streaming worldwide including Ireland.
Live coverage begins in week two (weekend of May 15 & 16) with 14 games including Mayo v Down in Division 2 Football, and Clare v Wexford and Kilkenny v Antrim in Division 1 Hurling. Later weeks will see Galway v Roscommon and Tyrone v Monaghan in Division 1 Football.
The full schedule will be confirmed as the Leagues progress, with commentary from Marty Morrissey, Darragh Maloney and Ger Canning among others.
As a result of Covid-19 restrictions, this is the second year the service will grant fans at home the ability to stream inter-county GAA games live or on demand in 1080p HD. In the truncated 2020 season, the platform played host to 21 Allianz League and 11 Championship games, having previously been available only to those living outside of Ireland.
Fans in Ireland have two options to enjoy their chosen fixtures this season. Individual games can be bought (€5 during the League, €8 for Championship), or alternatively a catch-all Pass product will grant the user access to GAAGO's full domestic schedule of 60+ League and Championship games.
The Pass costs just €25 and will be available to buy from Wednesday 12 May. Sign-up is via the GAAGO.ie website or the GAAGO iOS and Android apps. Supporters who download the app then have the option to cast the games to their TV. Supporters outside of Ireland can also look forward to reduced 2021 subscription prices.
Both codes feature a revised structure for this year's Leagues as originally planned last December with each division in Football split on a 'North’ and ‘South’ basis. 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 (subject to the Championship games schedule).
In Hurling there will be no finals played. There will either be joint winners for 2021, or if the teams that win Division 1A and Division 1B meet in the Championship, this will double as a League Final.
New rules introduced for the competition will target cynical play with sin bins and more scope for penalties being trialed. A more lenient approach in the allowing of substitutes is also expected to be implemented for the duration of both the Football and Hurling leagues.
RTÉ Sport's televised live Allianz National Leagues coverage begins this Saturday 8 May with Limerick v Tipperary on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player while Allianz League Sunday returns on Sunday 9 May.
GAAGO is brought to you in conjunction with our partners Allianz and FRS Recruitment.
