GAA confirms Tier 2 motion which will go before Special Congress

The GAA has confirmed the Tier 2 proposal that will be voted upon at Special Congress next month.

A meeting of the Ard Chomhairle at the weekend agreed the agenda for next month's event in Cork, with a 'B championship' and rule changes in Gaelic football set for debate.

Tier 2 proposal

Under the proposal, the provincial championships will be played as currently.

The All-Ireland Qualifiers will be open to teams from National League Divisions 1 and 2 and any Division 3 or 4 teams who qualify for their provincial final.

Therefore, there would only be two full rounds of All-Ireland Qualifiers, as opposed to four. An additional preliminary round is provided for, however, in years where more than eight teams are eligible to participate in Round 1.

It is proposed to then introduce a new straight knockout Tier 2 Championship for all Division 3 and 4 teams that do not reach their provincial finals.

The GAA have pledged to ensure greater coverage of any second tier:

"A range of marketing and promotional supports will be committed to the new competition, as well as the use of Croke Park for semi-finals and finals and a planned increase in TV coverage."

Subscribe to GAA alerts!

We'll send you push notifications so you'll receive all of the big GAA news!

Gaelic football rules

Following a trial during the 2019 National League, three rules will go forward to a vote:

• The taking of all kick-outs from the 20-metre line.
• The introduction of a 10-minute 'sin bin' for players who receive a black card.
• The awarding of a 'mark' to players who cleanly catch a ball kicked from on or outside the opposition's 45m line, that travels at least 20m and without touching the ground

Super 8s

The Super 8s format is also set for a shake-up. This would require the approval of a full GAA Congress and it is intended to bring forward a motion on this to Congress 2020 next February.

In Round 1, the four provincial champions will be at home against one of the teams who came through the qualifiers.

Round 2 could then see the winners of the Round 1 matches play each other, while the losers of the Round 1 matches will also face off.

The Croke Park round may be moved to different venues.