Inter-county teams have been told that they cannot resume collective training until December 7.

The GAA confirmed on Wednesday the later return to training in a memo after the GPA had called for November to become a ‘zero contact’ month. The memo also stated that training isn’t permitted during Christmas week and that no inter-county challenge matches can take place until January which used to be the month for pre-season competitions.

“The return to training has been confirmed for Saturday, December 7, as agreed with the GPA (Gaelic Players’ Association) and approved by the GAA Central Council this evening. Please note that there will be no training from December 22 to 27 during Christmas week. Challenge games will be allowed from January onwards,” the memo read.

“A pre-screening session over a weekend is permitted in October for medical assessments and the distribution of S&C/running block programmes.”

The memo added: “The GPA is advocating for November to be a no-contact period, which players have strongly supported.

“All of this has been approved by leading sports science experts, allowing for individual preparation ahead of the pre-season, followed by six weeks of contact training before the first competitive match.”

Tweet

Most Read Stories