THE 2020 TG4 All-Ireland senior championship will have a new look.
The Ladies Gaelic Football Association [LGFA] announced a revamp of the structure today, and confirmed that there will be no 2020 Leinster senior championship.
Uncertainty reigned surrounding the future of the provincial competition following Westmeath’s relegation to the intermediate ranks in 2019.
For the past few years, it had been just three-in-a-row All-Ireland champions Dublin and the Midlanders contesting a straight final — but following Westmeath’s relegation, there was hope for the Leinster championship to stay alive with Meath in the All-Ireland intermediate final.
The Royals were beaten by Tipperary however, and in turn, failed to seal promotion to the top tier. The LGFA had yet to comment on the issue until today, stating that “there will be no Senior Championship in Leinster for 2020.”
While Dublin star forward Nicole Owens shared her uncertainty on the matter in an interview with The42 in October, she looked at possible solutions.
Sky Blues manager Bohan has called for the provincial championships to be scrapped time and time again, and that’s now a reality in the East.
“I don’t know, obviously with the hurling, they moved Galway to Leinster and that was more of a competitive spirit in Leinster,” Owens, whose Dublin side won their eighth consecutive title this year, said. “I don’t really know what they can do.
“We have been joking about it, how bizarre it would be playing in say, a Connacht final. That would be so odd. At the same time, we don’t want to be handed a Leinster title and we also don’t want to go into an All-Ireland championship not having played a competitive match. I don’t know what they are going to do.
“I’d like to think they’re thinking about it. Certainly for us, we don’t think past Leinster until we’ve played each game in Leinster. That’s the first focus.”
At the minute, it looks like the four-in-a-row chasing side will indeed be going into the 2020 All-Ireland series cold.
It will consist of two groups, with six teams in each, and the top two teams from each group will progress to the All-Ireland semi-finals, following a minimum of five games.
The bottom team in each group will contest a relegation play-off, unless they are a provincial winner, and thereby exempt from relegation.
Since its original restructure in 2018, the past two All-Ireland campaigns have had four groups of three face off — top two go through to All-Ireland quarter-finals, and the bottom sides, unless they are a provincial winner, contest relegation play-offs.
The groups for the 2020 All-Ireland series will be decided at the LGFA’s next Central Council meeting, and circulated thereafter.
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