The Gaelic Players’ Association want the decision taken by Central Council last month to cancel the pre-league competitions to be upheld.
There is growing support for the January tournaments to be reinstated for 2025 because at least some of the Football Review Committee’s trial rules are expected to be operational during the National Football League next season.
Wicklow and Cavan have both prepared motions ahead of Saturday’s meeting of Central Council to revive the provincial tournaments, believing they would provide players with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new ‘game enhancements’ before the league commences.
However, the GPA’s stance on the January competitions has not changed and they hope the decision made at September’s meeting of Central Council survives the current groundswell of support looking to reverse that call.
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The GPA has for several years called for the January competitions to be discontinued.
GPA chief executive Tom Parsons presented player welfare related data to last month’s meeting of Central Council after which GAA president Jarlath Burns called for a vote on suspending the pre-league competitions in 2025.
The possibility of now backtracking on the call to cancel the competitions and instead give them a stay of execution for at least one more season has gathered momentum since last weekend’s interprovincial trial games at Croke Park.
The games were generally well received and it is likely several of the new rules will get the go ahead to be trialled throughout the 2025 campaign. However, there has been no deviation by the GPA in relation to competitions including the O’Byrne Cup, McKenna Cup, McGrath Cup, and FBD League.
“The position of the GPA remains the same and we wish the decision taken last month is upheld and implemented for the 2025 season,” said a GPA spokesman.
Any U-turn on the pre-season competitions could have a knock-on impact on an agreed return to training date of Saturday, December 7th. That later return to training has facilitated the GPA’s push for November as a zero-contact month, providing intercounty players with a designated break period.
With players due to return to collective training on December 7th, there are no challenge matches permitted until January. There will also be no training permitted between December 22nd-27th.
However, if the drive to reinstate the January competitions was to prove successful this weekend, then it could possibly lead to intercounty players seeking a change to that training return date.
The GPA’s opposition to the January competitions is longstanding and the issue was again on the agenda at its annual general meeting earlier this year.
“There seems to be two proposed structures [to the season format],” said GPA chief executive Tom Parsons after that gathering in July. “But neither of the proposals address the elephant in the room in terms of competitions in January, which is a pause of the pre-season competitions.
“We know damn well teams have to come back training in November because of games in January. If the GAA want to increase the importance of those games at the latter end, maybe they should look at games that are taking up four weeks at the start of the season.”
Parsons even raised the possibility at the time of players not lining out in the January competitions if action was not taken.
“Something that is within our remit is to mandate our members that players who have been on panels for two years don’t engage in pre-season competitions,” he said.
But the nettle was grasped in September when Central Council decided to pause the January competitions for one year – though should they be put on ice for one season it would be difficult to see them taken out of cold storage again in the future.
Wicklow’s reason for tabling a motion this Saturday is to provide players with an opportunity to experience the rules in competitive matches before the National Football League commences.
“We just feel this is not the right year,” explained Wicklow Central Council delegate Martin Fitzgerald.
“The National Football League is a very important competition for counties like Wicklow and we feel it is important for the players to have the opportunity to get used to the rules before the league starts.”
Saturday’s Central Council meeting will consider the Football Review Committee’s rule changes and what motions will go before Special Congress on November 30th. The FRC are studying feedback from last week’s games and it is believed the four points for a goal enhancement is set to be withdrawn.
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