But which dug-out will Kevin McStay be in?
Mayo are currently without a manager or management team, but they now have a game to circle on the calendar and aim for.
The men’s 2018 inter-county season wrapped up on Sunday with Dublin’s All-Ireland final win over Tyrone. Behind the scenes, GAA officials were already hard at work trying to shape the calendar for 2019.
The association was hit with a fixtures glut, earlier this year, when bad weather and vows to keep ‘April for Clubs’ bit hard.
The plan for the 2019 Allianz Football League is for the games to take place from Saturday, January 26 until Sunday, March 24 with the finals taking place on the March 30-31 weekend.
A provisional draft of the fixtures has been viewed by the Irish Independent’s Colm Keys, who notes they ‘are not finalised and have been distributed as part of a consultation process’.
The opening round of the Allianz Football League’s Division 1 has thrown up a number of tasty clashes.
Mayo and Roscommon will get the division underway with a 7pm throw-in at MacHale Park on Saturday, January 26. Mayo are on the look-out for a new manager after parting ways with Stephen Rochford following their championship exit before the Super 8s stage.
Rossies boss Kevin McStay is one of the favourites for a return to his home county. He represented Mayo in the 1980s and led the Mayo U21s to a Connacht title in 2001. He has been with Roscommon since 2015 and led them to the Connacht SFC title in 2017, as well as getting them promoted to Division 1 earlier this year.
Elsewhere on the opening weekend, Kerry host beaten All-Ireland finalists Tyrone at 2pm on Sunday, January 27. Cavan travel to Galway and All-Ireland champions Dublin are on the road to Monaghan.
SATURDAY
- Mayo vs. Roscommon (7pm)
SUNDAY
- Kerry v Tyrone (2pm)
- Galway v Cavan (TBC)
- Monaghan v Dublin (TBC)
The fixtures should be officially confirmed in the coming weeks. You can view the full, provisional fixture list here.
