Jarlath Burns Claims FRC Are Set To Recommend Basketball-Esque Gaelic Football Rule Change To GAA

The new Gaelic football rules for 2025 were one of the biggest revelations the GAA has seen in years.

Introduced on something of a trial basis, the FRC's recommended rule "enhancements" opened up an entirely new, attacking game that rejuvenated the football championship for players and fans.

There are small details to be tweaked, and the new rules weren't necessarily for everyone, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't think the 2025 championship was the best in well over a decade.

As eyes turn to the 2026 championship, GAA President Jarlath Burns has revealed that an additional game-changing rule is being considered by the Football Review Committee.

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Jim Gavin and his Football Review Committee have worked throughout the 2025 season to tweak the rules to find the perfect sweet spot.

One of the most revolutionary of the rule "enhancements" was the requirement for each team to have at least three outfield players in each half at all times, with harsh penalties in place for any team failing to abide by those rules.

As the FRC continue to combat the cautious keep-ball style of play that has dominated Gaelic football for years, they are considering a further addition to that rule.

Speaking as the John F Kennedy Summer School was opened in New Ross on Thursday, GAA President Jarlath Burns revealed that the FRC were considering recommending the addition of a basketball-style "backcourt rule" to Special Congress in October.

Quoted by John Fogarty in the Irish Examiner, Burns said:

One of the things they have been talking is about once a team passes the halfway line in attack, you can’t go back over the halfway line.

I would support that because if you’re two points ahead, it’s too easy just to pass the ball across (the pitch). There has to be a certain amount of pressure to ensure that the last couple of minutes are exciting.

Special Congress will vote on the long-term future of the 2025 rule set in October, and the backcourt rule would be a massive addition to an already revolutionary set of rule changes.

In basketball, the backcourt rule works twofold.

Firstly, it gives teams only eight seconds to move the ball into the offensive half before they are penalised. Secondly, once they enter the offensive half, the ball cannot return over the halfway line unless it has been touched by the opposition.

Those rules, coupled with the shot clock, have made basketball one of the fastest-paced sports in the world.

How closely the FRC's recommendation to the GAA will model basketball's backcourt rule remains to be seen, but it would be a drastic shift that many have been calling for for years.