The GAA are set to retain the existing All-Ireland Football format for the 2025 season but a new format will be voted on at February’s Congress and pre-season tournaments have been suspended for next year.
The 2024 season was the second of the four-team, four-group format, with three teams advancing to either the All-Ireland quarter-finals or preliminary quarter-finals depending on where counties finished in their group.
Meetings of An Coiste Bainistíochta and Ard Chomhairle were held on Friday and Saturday and led to the decision to present ‘Option 1’ as the preferred choice for possible implementation for the 2026 season.
Counties were asked to assess a number of options and provide feedback to the GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee [CCCC], and Option 1 has proved most popular.
That option would still include provincial championship series across the four provinces with the eight finalists, the top seven placed league counties after that, and the Tailteann Cup winners going into a 16-team draw.
Those eight ties would produce eight-team winners’ and losers’ paths.
Congress to vote on issues
The victors in the four winners’ games would advance directly to the quarter-finals with the losers having another opportunity against the four sides who secure wins from the losers’ path games.
Pre-season competitions, including the McKenna Cup in Ulster, are being suspended for a season.
There will currently be no motion brought forward for a potential third-tier football championship.
Congress in February will also vote on the possibility of bringing in a replay after extra-time for provincial finals and in the event of a draw after normal time in an All-Ireland final at senior level.
It was also agreed that the CCCC will make the decision about which days the Tailteann Cup final and All-Ireland hurling quarter-finals will be staged.
This follows some controversy in July where consideration was given to making a late change and play the Tailteann Cup semi-finals on Saturday with the hurling quarter-finals switching to Sunday.