The 2023 EirGrid GAA Football U20 All-Ireland Championship was officially launched in Dublin this week.
Tyrone U20 football manager Paul Devlin, 5-time All-Ireland winner, 5-time All-Star and new Kerry U20 manager Tomás Ó Sé, and last year’s EirGrid Player of the Year and current Tyrone under 20 captain Ruairí Canavan were all in attendance at the launch.
The 2023 season marks the ninth year of EirGrid’s sponsorship of the U20 Football Championship.
The partnership is part of EirGrid’s “wider commitment to supporting local communities and investing in the future of Ireland.”
The EirGrid Leinster U20 Championship is split into three competitive groups with the opening game scheduled for the 21st of March. The opening round will see a number of exciting matches, with Longford taking on Meath and Carlow facing Laois in group one.
In group two, Wicklow will face Dublin while Louth take on 2021 Championship winners Offaly. In group three, Wexford will receive a bye into the next round, while 2022 Leinster Champions and All Ireland finalists Kildare coming up against Westmeath.
In Ulster, the provincial Championship throws in on Wednesday, the 22nd of March with a preliminary fixture between Monaghan and Armagh. The quarter-finals start on Wednesday, March 29th with a bumper day of action, featuring Fermanagh vs Derry, Donegal vs Antrim, current defending champions Tyrone vs Down, and Cavan facing the winner of Monaghan vs Armagh.
The EirGrid Connacht Championship commences on the 5th of April with an exciting game expected between last year’s Connacht champions Sligo and 2021 All Ireland finalists Roscommon. The semi-finals will then take place on April 14th with Leitrim facing Galway and Mayo taking on the winners of Sligo and Roscommon.
The EirGrid Munster U20 Championship is the last to get going on the 10th of April at the quarter-final stage with Tipperary facing rivals Clare and Limerick coming up against Waterford.
Last year’s Munster champions and All-Ireland semi-finalists Kerry will meet the winners of Tipperary vs Clare, while last year’s provincial finalists and 2019 winners Cork will battle it out against the winners of Limerick and Waterford.
The Final will take place on May 13th.
“At EirGrid, we are delighted to launch the EirGrid U20 Championship today in what is our 9th year of sponsorship of the competition,” said CEO Mark Foley.
“This competition has provided a strong platform for the country’s young and talented footballers to showcase their skills and develop their potential powering forward into the senior county ranks. We would like to wish all the players, teams and management every success in the 2023 season and look forward to many an exciting encounter on the field of play.”
“The EirGrid GAA Football U20 Championship has proven to be extremely entertaining in recent years,” added GAA President Larry McCarthy.
“Tyrone were the worthy winners in 2022 and we are looking forward to the 2023 Championship offering similar levels of drama and entertainment in the coming weeks. The EirGrid U20 Championship provides a fine opportunity for young players to showcase their talents and take their first steps towards the next generation of senior intercounty Gaelic footballers I also thank EirGrid for their continued support of this wonderful competition.”
Sport for Business Perspective:
This is a pointer to the future but also a great showcase for football and well worth a watch. In a similar fashion to the U20 Six Nations, it showcases the game played a little looser than with the seniors, and that makes it very entertaining. Nine consecutive years of partnership with Eirgrid suggests it is clearly doing something right for both the GAA and the brand.
