Football quarter-final draw back to early evening slot

THE GAA have outlined details of the All-Ireland football quarter-final draw, which will take place in Thurles on Sunday evening, shortly after the second All-Ireland hurling quarter-final between Galway and Waterford. It marks a return to a more civilised hour following the late, late broadcast of last Sunday’s fourth round qualifier draw – something which the GAA say “won’t happen again”.

The actual format of the quarter-finals will follow that of recent years in that the four provincial winners – Dublin, Cork, Tyrone and Mayo – will go into one bowl, and the four winners of the fourth-round qualifier in the other – Antrim or Kerry, Kildare/ Wicklow, Galway/Donegal, and Limerick/Meath or Roscommon.

The only precondition is the provincial finalist will be kept apart. Therefore, should Kildare beat Wicklow, they can’t be drawn again against Dublin. Likewise, should Antrim beat Kerry, they can’t be drawn against Tyrone, and similarly, if Galway beat Donegal, they can’t meet the Connacht champions Mayo.

However, if Kerry win, they can be drawn against Cork again, as their previous meeting was in the provincial semi-final. Likewise, Dublin could well meet Meath again – should those teams progress.

While originally all four quarter-finals were due to be played on the weekend after next, August 1st/2nd, the delay to one of the fourth-round qualifiers – the meeting between Limerick and either Meath or Roscommon – means at least one of the quarter-finals will be postponed until the following weekend, August 8th/9th.

At their meeting yesterday, the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) didn’t enter into the possibilities of which of those quarter-finals would be delayed. However the expectation is Dublin could be given a stand-alone fixture in Croke Park, should the opposition be deemed appetising enough.

“It totally depends on the draw so there was nothing discussed at this stage,” said CCCC secretary Pat Doherty. “It depends as well on what team Dublin draw, so there was no point discussing the potential dates at this stage because it would all be mere speculation.”

The issue of Croke Park not being available wasn’t discussed either. While the stadium is currently a construction site for this weekend’s three U2 concerts, the expectation remains the new playing surface will be in place in time for next weekend – despite the incredibly tight deadline of just under three days.

“We’ve been given a guarantee the pitch will be ready so we’ve no reason to be thinking Croke Park won’t be available and that another venue should be considered,” added Doherty.

“So while one of the quarter-final will definitely be put back until the weekend of August 8th, the other three games are still on course to be played in Croke Park on the weekend after next, as scheduled. That’s the guarantee we have been given and the one we’re working under.”