Dual players in Clare and Cork are being asked to play two major championship matches on the same day this weekend.

The fixtures clashes on Saturday affect three dual players from Cork and four from the Banner County.

The Rebelettes camogie team are scheduled to face Offaly in an All-Ireland championship group match at Páirc Uí Rinn at 2pm and the Cork ladies footballers are due to play Kerry in the Munster final in Mallow at 6pm.

Meanwhile, Clare's camogues will meet Dublin at 2pm, while the footballers will be on duty in the Munster intermediate final against Waterford at 4pm.

The Women's Gaelic Players Association (WGPA) has released a statement, saying: "We feel this is an unacceptable situation for the players involved; it is not okay to ask players to play two championship games in one day. There are serious issues around player welfare, potential injury and diminished performance, as well as the health and safety of the players rushing between venues. After months of diligent preparation, both the players and the teams involved deserve the chance to deliver their best performance.

"We have engaged with both national associations and the provincial bodies, as well as the players involved, to encourage co-operation in order to find an alternative resolution. The fixtures have been in place since the start of the year so the issue should have been addressed some time ago. A suitable compromise such as staggering matches over the course of a weekend, which has worked in other provinces would serve to benefit both the players and the profile of our games."

The Camogie Association has also issued a statement: "The All Ireland Camogie Championship draft fixtures are issued in October each year for consultation to all county boards. These issued in November to the LGFA. The best opportunity to avoid Camogie/LGFA fixture clashes is when the fixtures of both Associations are at the planning/consultative stages.

"The Liberty Insurance  All Ireland Camogie championship programme involves multiple teams and multiple players. Once the national fixtures programme is ratified, changes are far more difficult as county boards and provincial councils plan club and other county  fixtures around available dates.  It is usual for national fixtures to take precedence over other fixtures.

"While the Camogie Association endeavours to accommodate preferences and requests and to accommodate dual players, a  busy fixtures schedule at all levels means that, regrettably,  it may not always be possible to resolve issues to everyone's satisfaction, particularly if requests come after the national fixtures are ratified and published."

Cork dual star Briege Corkery told RTE: "It's not just Rena [Buckley], Meabh Cahalane and myself that are involved. It's the panels -the camogie team and the football team and management: we're all losing out, really. It's just a pity: this could be all sorted very easily, by just meeting at the start of the year."

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