John Fogarty: GAA Congress may shelve championship restructure but change is coming
A general view of the 2020 GAA Congress. File photo: INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon
During last Thursdayâs online meeting of county treasurers, Downâs Diarmuid Cahill revealed that his fellow board members were in the process of debating the two championship proposals ahead of Special Congress.
With the GAAâs projected gate receipts for the formats only being revealed that night â just nine days out from the pivotal vote â how were his colleagues expected to make an informed decision, he wondered.
Counties like Offaly and Westmeath had earlier in the week declared their support for Proposal B. But that backing has now been called into question as the figures revealed on Thursday night show that such a reform of the championship will result in a loss of gate receipts.
Croke Parkâs delay in providing clarity on these matters was criticised by a number of speakers. GAA director of finance Ger Mulryan acknowledged those concerns but there was notable upset that the hierarchy had failed to act sooner and the vacuum was filled by calendar review taskforce member Conor OâDonoghueâs claim that Proposal B would reap the GAA âŹ10 million more in gate receipts.
Indeed, one speaker took exception to OâDonoghueâs use of the GAA logo in his financial review of Proposal B.
Connacht secretary John Prenty, who was a member of the calendar fixtures review taskforce and has regularly called for championship reform, stressed OâDonoghueâs work did not represent that of the committee and they themselves had made no recommendations. Like GAA president Larry McCarthy, Prenty was on the âTowards 2034â body whose unpublished report recommended the provincial championships be discontinued but he has yet to comment publicly ahead of Saturday.
Considered one of the shrewdest staff figures in the GAA, Prenty is on record as favouring the four eight-team provincial conferences and perhaps he sees the writing is on the wall for that Proposal A. Nevertheless, his is a voice that would be welcome before Special Congress.
For an organisation whose leaders insist that change is needed, the silence has been deafening. In that regard, pro-Proposal B calendar fixture review membersâ exasperation is understandable. If the All-Ireland SFC League is not the transformation that everybody recognises needs to happen for the sake of Gaelic football then what is? And given the amount of work and consultation they put into formulating these proposals, will we have to wait as long for alternatives to be produced?
The problem for OâDonoghue, Kevin OâDonovan, and Ronan Sheehan is not only the fact that their committee is disbanded â despite activity between members in recent weeks â but the proposals have been on the shelf for two years now.
As the groupâs own chairman Eddie Sullivan intimated in this newspaper, the pandemic has altered the landscape and it should have been reflected in updated proposals. That it wasnât will likely be a primary reason it fails.
Just as understandable and palpable was the apprehension among treasurers last week. Club gate receipts may be rolling in once more but Covid has rocked confidence and coffers arenât bountiful.
The pre-2018 qualifier system is a flawed structure of a bygone era but it is now being considered by these officials as a failsafe.
What hasnât altered since December 2019 is the publicâs realisation that the system isnât fit for purpose. Media rights holders know it too. A return to the qualifier system next year means that again there will be very little championship football shown prior to provincial finals.
The GAA must and, you imagine, already are preparing themselves for the fallout should both proposals fail to receive 60% (by the by, donât be surprised if the provincial conferences motion is withdrawn given the lack of support it is picking up).
In a marked move from the past, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) has shown themselves to be proactive and their reaction to a failed vote will be interesting. A strike would seem unlikely given the season doesnât start for another three months and their stance on Proposal B was on the basis of 30%-35% of their membership responding to their survey. However, they will have to be given reassurances that the championship will be remodelled in 2023.
It might be that the league needs a revamp also. It is footballâs best competition but the revolving door between Division 1 and 2 is tedious and doing little to shatter the glass ceiling. The differences between Division 3 and 4 are negligible and they may as well be the same group.
At the very least, Proposal B has focused minds and forced football to face up to reality. The underpinning principle has to be that too many of the strong teams are facing too many of the weaker ones and those of similar ilk arenât doing it enough against one another.
It may not be this Saturday but change is coming. It has to.
Proposed provincial leagues face squeeze
A startling feature of how Proposal B might fit into the 2022 season reveals teams could be playing for eight times in nine weekends from the middle of March through to the end of April. Prove successful in the spring provincial league and counties could be involved in semi-finals and finals on consecutive weekends, straight after their final round game in the province.
As it is envisaged the All-Ireland League backs onto the provincial leagues, teams would go straight into their three weekends of their division. A break week is planned between Round 3 and 4 and Round 6 and 7, although for a team to get to the final from an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final they will have to play four games in five weeks.
Itâs a tight squeeze and something the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) will have to address with the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) if the All-Ireland SFC League is given the green light in Croke Park on Saturday.
Considering teams will commence the championship a week after the provincial finals which is preceded the weekend by the semi-finals, the arguments put forward by provincial secretaries that their championships will be devalued has some weight.
âI think that has been oversold in the sense we donât see it being a whole lot different to the McGrath Cup, which is a pre-season competition and we would see the provincial leagues being preseason competitions,â said Munster GAA CEO Kieran Leddy last week.
âI wonder really what value will that be for Kerry who are preparing for a Division 1 in the championshipâŠâ
Finding enough space to give the provincial league enough status is difficult when the GAA must have the inter-county season completed by the 29th Sunday in the calendar, which usually falls in mid to late July.
Even with the All-Ireland football final being played the week after the hurling decider next year as is proposed, the schedule is tight.
Who in their right mind would want to manage?
We wonder if two of Armaghâs greatest forwards were on the phone to one another the weekend before last.
Misery loves company and OisĂn McConville and Stevie McDonnell had plenty of self-pity to share.
âI found myself in a very lonely, desolate place last Sunday afternoon,â McConville wrote in his Sunday Life column after his Inniskeenâs 11-point defeat to champions Scotstown in the Monaghan SFC.
âMind you, I never thought I would ever have to express such a view relative to my attendance at a game of football. As a club manager I need no one to tell me that I cut a sad, demoralised figure.â
In his column in the Irish News last week, McDonnell addressed the Tyrone SFC defeat of his Clonoe side by Errigal CiarĂĄn.
âSport can sometimes be cruel and the feeling of hurt and emptiness you experience at the hands of defeat is one of the worst feelings ever.
âI know this, because right now I am feeling that pain. Iâm not alone though as the length and breadth of the country, there are teams being eliminated from their county championships each weekend but that does not make it any easier.â
McConville and McDonnell were born winners, they know the game inside-out but outside the whitewash they can only do so much. Management â who in their right mind would do it?
Email: john.fogarty@examiner.ie
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