No promotion or relegation in Dublin championship in 2020

Dublin GAA have unveiled their plan to return to play in 2020 but it's not great news for clubs outside of Senior A.

There will be no promotion or relegation in any championship across football or hurling this year which means winners won't move up a grade, as customary. The hurling gets everything under way on July 18 with the football championship beginning the following week and the calendar sees both codes alternating every other week from there.

• Hurling championship starts July 18/19
• Football championship starts July 25/16
• Hurling final is on September 12/13
• Football final is on September 19/20
• Football group draws made in February will stand
• SHC A group draws stand
• New draws will be made for the rest of the hurling championships

Whilst the return to play is welcome, it's a tough blow for teams outside of the top tier, the way it has been structured. A lot of clubs in Dublin are fiercely competitive with eyes on progression and it is the carat of moving up through the divisions that drive them. That's why there's a Senior B competition. Now, a traditional club like St. Brigid's, who find themselves in unfamiliar water in Senior B having been relegated last year, don't have the opportunity to bounce straight back to Senior A. St. Brigid's will now be playing Senior B in 2021 again. Thomas Davis showed the gap isn't that wide between the top clubs when they went from being Senior B champions in 2018 to Senior A finalists in 2019. Whoever wins the Senior B this year though will be staying put and no side will be relegated. Cup competitions are scheduled to take place after the group stages of the championship to run into October. Dublin teams had played one round of league fixtures already but that competition is buried for 2020.