A REQUEST from the Donegal Competitions Controls Committee for a dispensation for the 2020 Donegal SFC final to be played this weekend has been rejected.
The Donegal CCC wrote to Croke Park seeking permission to stage the final, between the defending champions, Naomh Conaill, and Kilcar, this Sunday, October 11, as planned.
The Naomh Conaill and Kilcar clubs communicated with the County Board who made representation on their behalf to Croke Park.
However, the answer from headquarters was a firm ‘no’.
The final had already been postponed twice.
The fixture had been moved from its original date at the end of September following a positive Covid-19 infection within the Kilcar squad.
It was subsequently pencilled in for this evening, October 7, but the CCC then pushed it back until the weekend.
The Donegal County Board say that the clubs are ‘inevitably frustrated and disappointed with this turn of events.’
Officials in the county remain hopeful that the final – and the IFC relegation play-off between Naomh Colmcille and Naomh Ultan, which has also fallen as a result of Monday’s decision – will be okayed within the calendar yea.
The County Board said: “With the club window cut short CLG Dhún na nGall have received clarification from Croke Park that our club final can be played during the “County” window if Donegal exit the championship.”
Were Donegal to reach the 2020 All-Ireland SFC fail, the county final would be played between Christmas and New Year.
If Donegal exit the Championship at an early date, the CCC have confirmed they will seek to play the final within two weeks.
A window between inter-county games is a possibility, but the Board concede that, even if they got a green light from Croke Park, ‘it may not be palatable to either clubs or County management.’
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