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GAA Pulls Season-Extension Plan Before Likely Defeat at Congress

Delegate concerns over the club window and pre-season competitions prompted the last-minute withdrawal.

Overview

  • Motion 14 was withdrawn moments before a scheduled vote at Croke Park after a debate signalled a heavy defeat, with chair Páraic Duffy requesting the pullback and President Jarlath Burns approving it despite an appeal from Galway’s Paul Bellew.
  • The proposal would have shifted the 2027 All-Ireland football final to the second Sunday in August and the hurling final to the last Sunday in July.
  • Opposition speakers including former president Seán Kelly, Connacht CEO John Prenty and Galway chair Paul Bellew warned of a reduced club window, extra strain on dual players and the effective loss of pre-season competitions.
  • The withdrawal leaves the existing split-season calendar unchanged and postpones any decision on extending the inter-county window.
  • Separately, Congress approved a GPA-backed cap of 30 competitive weekends for the inter-county season and backed other format changes, including scrapping All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals and sending drawn provincial football finals to replays.