Croke Park have confirmed that none of the eight teams taking part in this weekend's National Football League finals will be allowed to train at the venue beforehand.

Four games will take place over the weekend to decide the champions between Divisions One through Four, but the players will only be allowed to walk out on to the pitch prior to their game's throw-in.

"This follows on from a decision made by the management committee four years ago," stadium director Peter McKenna told the Irish Daily Star.

"Only All-Ireland semi-finalists who haven't played at Croke Park before (that year) and the junior, intermediate and senior club finalists are given the opportunity to train at Croke Park.

"Last year we had 57 separate teams playing football and hurling at Croke Park and that would have meant 57 separate training sessions."

Saturday will see Waterford footballers make their first ever appearance in Croke Park as they take on Limerick in the Division Four decider, while opponents Limerick have only been occasional visitors in the past, as have been Division Three finalists Antrim and Sligo. Tweet

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