Confirmation of the GAA’s intercounty master fixtures list for 2022 has both the All-Ireland hurling and football finals being played before the end of July, those games also the only senior championship fixtures to be facilitated with a replay, if so required.
All other knockout championship games will be “winner on the day” - helping to ensure the season is completed within its further reduced window.
In what is the first full implementation of the so-called split season - disrupted over the last two years because of Covid-19 - the average intercounty season length for each county has been reduced from 35 weeks down to 26 weeks.
The All-Ireland hurling final will be played on July 17th, with the All-Ireland football final one week later on July 24th - which is actually the 30th Sunday of the year. These are the only two senior games which will be afforded a replay if the sides are still level after two periods of extra-time.
In football, all four provincial football finals will take place on the same weekend of May 28th/29th, with the Munster and Leinster finals on the Saturday, and the Connacht and Ulster finals on the Sunday. The provincial hurling finals and Joe McDonagh Cup Final will be played on the weekend of June 4th/5th, with the Ring, Rackard, and Meagher Cup Finals on May 21st.
In outlining the master fixture list, GAA’s director of player, club, and games administration Feargal McGill, highlighted a number of key changes from the pre-split season schedule, with a mention too of the still unknown impact of Covid-19.
“The fixtures largely speak for themselves, in the documentation,” said McGill. “We’re comparing everything here to 2019, which was our last normal season, and we’re hopeful of having a normal year this year, obviously. It’s not a given, but at the moment we’d still be very hopeful that we’ll get everything played that we’re putting out here today.
“It’s also the first proper split season as such, since Congress made the change. The Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups now have defined dates, within rule, have to be completed by week seventh and eighth, respectively. The provincial football and hurling, plus the McDonagh Cup, will commence on April 16th (Easter weekend, which is a much earlier start than usual, again a consequence of the split season.
“The under-20 football window has been the cause of much debate over the last few years, where it fitted in best, and I think we’ve settled on something which should work pretty well for us, mid-March and to mid-May, with the Development League taking place in February.”
McGill also conceded the GAA was likely to take a financial hit given the truncated season: “this all goes back to five, six, seven, eight years ago, where strategically we would have looked at the calendar and not been happy with the split between the time for club games and the time used for county games.
“It was also influenced to some degree by the ESRI report and the findings of that, that the commitment required to play the intercounty game was more and more significant.
“So those two things were behind the moves to tighten the intercounty footprint. Central Council are fully aware of the revenue implications for it. But they absolutely took the decision in the interest of players and in the interest of club players, in particular. We do know that there will be a financial knock on. But so be it. The Association wasn’t created to make money. It was created to provide games.”
Asked if the GAA had any contingency plans around Covid-19, given the concerns around the Omicron variant and the pre-season competitions due to start in early January, McGill said: “It completely depends on Government regulations, both north and south of the border. All we can do for the moment is put our best foot forward.
“Our plan is to complete the entire games programme again. If Government regulations change, then we’ll have to change. And it will all depend on when they change, to what extent they change, etc. So it’s as simple as that. It’s keeping an eye on the environment around us. The one advantage we have is that we’ve been through this before and we’re used to thinking on our feet when it comes to Covid.”
In the latest player and team officials Covid-19 guidelines, it is noted there will be “no handshakes before or after games, no spitting or nose-clearing, and team huddles should only take place where social distancing is observed.”
It was also confirmed the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) will only delay All-Ireland finals by more than seven days, should the competing teams be impacted by Covid-19 (semi-finals had been included previously). In the Allianz League, only finals can be postponed by up to seven days if one (or two) of the competing counties request a delay due to Covid-19.
With the return of knockout All-Ireland football quarter-finals (and discarding of the Super-8s), it was also confirmed that the semi-final pairings will be Connacht against Ulster and Leinster against Munster (if which team beats the provincial championships)
In a further move to complete the club championship within the calendar year, the 2022 All-Ireland club semi-finals are scheduled for December, with only the finals now taking place in January 2023.
The new Tailteann Cup will also be part of the All-Ireland senior football structure in 2022 and the final will take place on Saturday, July 7th, the same weekend as both All-Ireland football semi-finals. It was also confirmed that New York’s Tailteann Cup game will be in Ireland.
2022 key dates
January 29th/30th
Allianz Football League commences
February 5th/6th
Allianz Hurling League commences
April 2nd/3rd
Football League Finals (Division 1, 2, 3 & 4)
Hurling League Division 1 Final
Hurling League Finals (Division 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B)
May 21st
Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard, and Lory Meagher Cup Finals
May 28th/29th
All four provincial football finals, the Munster and Leinster Finals on the Saturday, and the Connacht and Ulster Finals on the Sunday.
June 4th/5th
Provincial hurling finals, plus Joe McDonagh Cup Final
June 18th/19th
All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-finals
June 25th/26th
All-Ireland senior football quarter-finals
July 2nd/3rd
All-Ireland senior hurling semi-finals
July 9th/10th
All-Ireland senior football semi-finals
July 9th
Tailteann Cup
July 17th
All-Ireland senior hurling final
July 24th
All-Ireland senior football final
