THE NEW FORMAT

Provincial championships are ran off as usual (In a shorter time frame) up to Semi Final stages in the four provinces.

After that

The 8 division 1 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

The 8 division 2 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

The 8 division 3 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

The 8 division 4 teams are drawn in two groups of four 

E.G

Each team plays each other once

The team that finishes top is seeded in the next round & home advantage

The team that finishes second qualifies with a chance of seeding

The team that finishes third qualifies for the next round

The team that finishes bottom is eliminated

24 teams qualify for the next round 

Draw consists of the 8 seeded teams who have guaranteed home advantage

The next four teams draw out from pot 2 (second seeds) join the top seeds with home advantage

The rest of the teams are drawn against those teams

The 12 winners progress to the Last 16 where they are joined by the four provincial winners

If a provincial winner also qualifies through the championship that team will receive a bye to the quarter final

Last 16

QF

Semi

Final

This format ensures that 

• The provincial championships remain but with increased importance
• The league remains the same but league placing a bearing on championship the following year
• A more defined schedule of games for Inter county teams
• Rebooted back door system 
• More games between counties of similar standard

A sample calendar 

#THEFORMAT

Finally a championship format which addresses many if not all the issues raised with the current championship structure.

The Key Points

• The provincial championships remain but with increased importance
• The league remains the same but league placing a bearing on championship the following year
• Abolishing league finals (Top team crowed champion) 
• Promotion/Relegation between divisions would be 3 up/3 down
• A more defined schedule of games for Inter county teams
• Rebooted back door system 
• More games between counties of similar standard
• Defined weekends for clubs to have access to Inter county players on regular basis

The League

• As normal - 4 divisions of 8 teams but now with 3 up & 3 down 
• League Finals abolished
• League placing determines which route you take in the All Ireland qualifiers 
• Shorter gap between end of league to championship

The Qualifiers 

• All 32 counties go into qualifiers 
• Qualifiers start after provincial quarter finals
• The 8 Division 1 teams are drawn against each other with 6 teams progressing to the last 16
• The 8 Division 2 teams are drawn against each other with 3 teams progressing to the last 16
• The 8 Division 3 teams are drawn against each other with 2 teams progressing to the last 16
• The 8 Division 4 teams are drawn against each other with 1 team progressing to the last 16
• In the tiered qualifiers there is a back door which guarantees at least 2 games in the qualifiers

The Provincials 

• The provincials are played as normal 
• Provincial semi & finals have increased importance with backdoor safety net removed
• Provincial winners who qualify also through qualifiers receive a bye to QF stage and a valuable week off

Here is a sample calendar for the season :

As you may see Division 1 starts two weeks later that the other divisions.

As there is only 2 rounds of qualifiers in Div 1

This is to tighten the gap between games 

A sample draw for qualifiers :

Division 4 Qualifiers 

 Division 3 Qualifiers 

Division 2 QualifiersDivision 1 Qualifiers 

This gives every county a realistic target of making the last 16 of the championship

Games against teams of similar standard should result in closer games,a boost to attendances,Plus giving counties more quality games in the Summer and a chance to build momentum

More games between the top teams early in the championship,Plus eliminates the advantage that stronger counties have in weaker provinces 

The 12 teams that progress from the qualifiers are joined by the 4 provincial winners 

If provincial winners have all ready qualified through the qualifiers they receive a well earned break and a bye to the QF as an extra incentive to win your Province

Here is a sample calendar for each county :

Colour guide

Allianz League

Provincial

Qualifier

All Ireland knockout series 

If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to contact

 #theformat 

gaatheformat@gmail.com or @gaatheformat on twitter