County chairpersons have voiced their support for the inter-county season to be played off before the club season starts next year.
The majority of county bosses agreed on a conference call today that the inter-county campaign should start with the leagues in late February - with league finals to take place over the first two weekends in April.
The championship would then be pencilled in to begin in mid-April and finishing up in mid-July with the All-Ireland finals.
GAA chiefs had been looking at running the club championships up to mid-August, with the inter-county season starting at the end of July and, like this year's changed calendar, finishing just before Christmas.
That schedule was being considered due to the possibility of crowds returning later next year, easing the financial burden placed on counties preparing teams for inter-county competition.
So the ball is in the court of the GAA's Management Committee, which is due to meet tomorrow, and Central Council, which will hold talks on the issue next week before a final decision is made.
