DERRY’S GAA CLUB championships will run until 11 October and finish just six days before the inter-county season is due to resume.

County chairman Stephen Barker confirmed to BBC Sport NI that the planned club format will span the full 11 weeks allowed between 31 July and 11 October.

Barker played down the possibility of a clash with inter-county football manager Rory Gallagher over player availability, arguing that “there could be no better preparation for the county season”. 

The proposed format will see clubs divided into four groups of four for a round-robin series before progressing to a seeded knockout stage.

“As the clubs drop out from 14 September on, they’ll be fit to go back to inter-county training,” Barker said.

“Rory will have a few weeks with the players to get prepared before we take on Armagh [in the Ulster quarter-finals].”

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