Floodlight games are to be key feature of NFL

Football and Hurling Fixtures for 2007:A substantial increase in floodlight football games is the main feature of next year's Allianz National Leagues fixtures, full details of which were announced yesterday.

As anticipated, the football league will start on Saturday evening, February 3rd with the headline meeting of Dublin and Tyrone - scheduled to be the baptism of Croke Park's newly installed floodlights.

That fixture still has to go before the Dublin County Board for approval, although attracting a substantial crowd won't be a problem as it will mark their first meeting since the infamously rough league game in Omagh earlier this year.

The same night sees another Division One A clash - Cork against Donegal at Páirc Uí Rinn - as well as the Division Two B clash of Meath against Cavan, set for newly-installed floodlights of Páirc Tailteann. That sets the trend for the substantial increase in floodlight games, with 27 games to be played under lights over the seven rounds - including all four of Dublin's home games.

All final-round games in Division One A on Saturday, April 7th, have also been scheduled as floodlight fixtures - Donegal v Fermanagh, Dublin v Kerry, Tyrone v Mayo, and Cork v Limerick. The remainder of the final-round matches will be decided on the Sunday.

All the football and hurling league fixtures still have to go before the GAA's Central Council for ratification at their meeting on December 9th, but few if any changes are expected. Croke Park have requested the Dublin County Board to allow the opening game against Tyrone be set for GAA headquarters, as opposed to Parnell Park, and while that move should be a formality, it must still go before the Dublin county committee meeting next Monday night.

The first full day of the football league, Sunday, February 4th, boasts an equally high-profile game with a repeat of this year's All-Ireland final - the meeting of Mayo and Kerry in Castlebar. Both teams will have a new manager, with John O'Mahony taking over Galway and Pat O'Shea set to take over in Kerry.

In Division One B, newly-promoted Westmeath and Louth are at home to Down and Laois respectively, while Galway host Derry and Kildare host Armagh.

Round two of the football league the following weekend was set to clash with Ireland's opening home Six Nations rugby clash with France at Croke Park, the first "foreign" game to be played in the stadium after the historic ruling to allow rugby and soccer be played there while Lansdowne Road is redeveloped.

Any direct clash, however, has been avoided, with six games set for Saturday evening under floodlights, and all the Sunday games starting at 1.30pm. Ireland's rugby match kicks off at 3pm. The next rugby match at Croke Park, Ireland versus England, takes place on a Saturday, February 24th, with a 5.30pm start - so again any direct clash will be avoided. The first soccer match at Croke Park, Ireland versus Wales, is also set for a Saturday - March 24th.

There had been some suggestions of a rejigging of the division groupings - but after the respective promotions and relegations they remain the same as last year. From 2008, however, the league reverts to the old-style four division format and those divisions will be decided on the basis of the 2007 final positions - which guarantees a competitive edge to the competition next year.

The football semi-finals have been set for April 15th, one week after the last round of games, and the final another week later on April 22nd. This helps accommodate the four-week window between the end of the leagues and the start of the championship, as agreed at last month's special congress in Croke Park.

In hurling, the existing league format also continues for 2007 despite more immediate calls for change - with five rounds followed by a quarter-final stage, set for April 8th. The semi-finals are the same as the football and set for the following Sunday, April 15th, with the hurling decider set for April 29th.

The headline games in round one will be the Division One A meetings of Cork against Offaly and Wexford against Waterford, and Tipperary against Kilkenny in Division One B. New Galway manager Ger Loughnane will have a relatively easy start with a home game against Antrim.