A ROUND-ROBIN group stage format with the top teams advancing to the semi-finals has been agreed upon as the format for the 2020 All-Ireland senior ladies football championship.
It is envisaged that the senior championship, along with the intermediate and junior grades, will be played off over seven weekends. There will be a two-week break between the conclusion of the group phases and the All-Ireland semi-finals, and then a further two-week break between the semi-finals and finals.
The LGFA have announced today that the formats for their senior, intermediate and junior competitions have been ratified with the draws to take place next Tuesday 30 June.
The senior championship will be contested by 12 counties with four groups of three teams each battling it out in the round-robin stages. The top team in each group will progress straight to the senior semi-finals.
The last four in 2019 – champions Dublin, runners-up Galway, Cork and Mayo – will be seeded and placed in each group. An open draw will then determine who will join those four teams in the groups.
The intermediate championship will be contested by 13 counties and will also be run off on a round-robin format with three groups of three teams and one group of four.
The top four go through to the semi-finals with Westmeath, relegated from the senior ranks in 2019, one of the seeded teams along with Meath, the 2019 intermediate runners-up, and last year’s beaten semi-finalists Roscommon and Sligo.
Six counties will contest the All-Ireland junior championship – Antrim, Derry, Fermanagh, Carlow, Wicklow and Limerick – with an open draw to make up the two groups of three teams.
The dates for the round-robin fixtures, and the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, will be agreed upon and circulated in due course. Further details relating to the running of the Championships will also be finalised shortly.
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It’s going to be an interesting season. It’s hard to call who’s going to win it since all the clubs change around so much. Dundalk should win it again on paper but this Cork side looks good. I really rated Bolger last season and thought he held pats together in midfield so with the players around him I’d say cork could be that bit harder to beat.
Are clubs still paying a yearly registration fee. If so what is it this year?
Hard to know if Dundalk will still have the hunger. Last season was all about becoming the first Dundalk team to win two in a row, this season, I think a decent run in Europe is the aim. Maybe that will affect our league progress. Having said that, it’s hard to see a better team in the league.
Maybe fix up the ground should be part of this seasons plan too for Dundalk with the recent success , it has to be the worst stadium in Ireland. How it got approved for European football last season still has me shocked.
Problem with lease that is preventing them from upgrading. http://www.the42.ie/dundalk-statement-oriel-park-2585281-Feb2016/
Compleatly forgot about that ! Fair point it’s a sticky situation.
Have to agree with you, the stadium is in a shocking state. Unfortunately the leasing issue seems to be holding up any developments. Personally I’d love to see the pitch ripped up and a return to grass.