By Barry O’Donnell

PROPOSALS on a revised fixture schedule are set to be forwarded to clubs in Tyrone after last week’s announcement of a green light to resume GAA competitions from July 31.

On Friday past Croke Park set out its ‘Gaelic Games Safe Return Roadmap’ which included an 11-week window for a condensed club campaign at both adult and underage level.

Counties will be expected to have their competitions completed before the inter-County Championships take centre stage from mid-October onwards.

Speaking yesterday morning, Tyrone PRO Eugene McConnell stated that a Competition Control Committee (CCC) meeting was to be scheduled imminently in response to the GAA ‘Roadmap’ announcement.

“I know the CCC are intending to meet to co-ordinate the fixture schedule and to meet with the fixture planners and finalise the proposals that are going to go out to the clubs.

“Given the time constraints we have it’s inevitable then this will have to be pushed on sooner rather than later. Clubs will be contacted to allow them to discuss the proposals. But clearly given the hampered time-frame that information will have to be forwarded to the clubs as quickly as possible so we can get their feedback.”

One of the concerns raised by club managers and players in the aftermath of the Roadmap document being published, was the prospect of many facing a ‘one and done’ season – with a straight knockout Championship being organised without a League running in tandem.

McConnell however offered some assurance that this wouldn’t be the case.

“The ambition is to provide football and to give clubs the opportunity to have meaningful competition. That will include a league and the structures around that have yet to be agreed and finalised. But it definitely would be the intention to provide a league ahead of the championship.

“In Tyrone the championship is a very special competition but just to have a single entity this season with possibly only one game for clubs wouldn’t fulfill anyone’s ambitions – players or managers. They can’t be deprived of a proper number of competitive games.

“The thinking is that there should be some format of league that will enable players to build up towards the championship. It’s only right that they get proper preparation building up to the championship.”

There has been talk of a potential regional league format, with each of the three grades (Senior, Intermediate and Juniors) split into halves or even quarters.

The Tyrone PRO acknowledged that the normal 15-game All-County League format would be hard to shoehorn into what remains of 2020, though he wasn’t ruling anything out.

“Until we see the finished proposals everything is on the table but logistically the window of opportunity to get the games played is narrow, if you weigh in all the other competitions. So there could be a limit in the number of league matches we can fit in.

“Of course it would be great if clubs could avail of 15 league games as they do in a normal season but this might prove impossible given the constraints of the time period we are dealing with.”

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