Development On 26 March 2019, three championship proposals were circulated to Cork club delegates after an expensive review process of the entire Cork championship system. A core element running through all three proposals, put together by the Cork GAA games workgroup, was that there be a group stage of 12 teams, as well as straight relegation and promotion. On 2 April 2019, a majority of 136 club delegates voted for Option A which provided for one round of games played in April and two more in August – all with inter-county players available. The decision meant that, for the first time since
1887, the top tier of Cork football was going to be split in two into the
Cork Premier Senior Championship and the Cork Senior A Championship.
Beginnings The
inaugural championship was scheduled to begin in April 2020, however, it was postponed indefinitely due to the
coronavirus pandemic in Ireland. When the championship resumed, time constraints led to a revision of the format, with the play-offs for the second best and third best third placed teams being abolished. The knockout stage was further reduced, with the two best-ranking teams from the group stage receiving byes to the semi-finals and the other four qualifying teams contesting two lone quarter-finals. The very first match eventually took place on 31 July 2020, with
Fr. O'Neill's claiming a 3-16 to 0-18 victory over
Kilworth.
Declan Dalton scored the very first championship point before Billy Dunne scored the championship's first ever goal. Kilworth became the first team to be relegated when they lost the
2020 relegation playoff to
Killeagh. ==Regular format==