A blueprint for the future of the All-Ireland
The elimination of all eight provincial finalists has triggered a debate that’s set to run and run all the way to Congress next April.
On the one hand we had the two most successful managers in the past decade, namely Mickey Harte and Jack O’Connor, pointing out the inequities of the existing system. The latter questioned the value of trying to win a provincial title when it seems to be detrimental to All-Ireland success.
He has a valid point as 2010 is going to be the third year in a row that none of the four provincial champions are going to capture Sam Maguire.
On the other side was GAA director general Páraic Duffy, who, while accepting that there are inequities, poured cold water on Harte’s suggestion that the four provincial winners should play one another, with the losers playing two teams that came through the qualifiers. This would mean that every county would get a second chance in the championship.
But Duffy argued that the qualifiers were introduced so that all counties got two games in the championship, not a second chance for all losing teams. He also pointed out that the All-Ireland series is a separate competition from the provincial championships and that no team gets a second chance once the All-Ireland series begins. He also noted that the introduction of extra rounds in the All-Ireland series would create havoc for county club fixtures.
Well, standing back from this debate it is clear, that while the qualifier system has served a good purpose, its major flaws and inequities cannot be corrected in its present form.
If we want fairness, if we want a system that works, and if we want to help our clubs there is one obvious solution. Run the provincial championships exactly as they are run at present but run the All-Ireland series as a separate competition, on an open draw basis, concurrently.
Páraic Duffy rightly said it is a separate competition already – separate but not apart from the provincial series. It is time to make the Sam Maguire Cup both separate and apart but run concurrently with the provincial campaign.
Here’s how it would work. Firstly, make your draw for each provincial championship as here to fore and run them off as normal with the fact that they would no longer be linked to the All-Ireland series giving the provincial councils some flexibility regarding dates. Also, make a separate open draw for the All-Ireland; 32 is the perfect number of counties and its time we used such a natural resource. New York or London could be given the option of playing a preliminary round or just opting for a shot at the provincials.
The first round should be played over two legs home and away, regardless of the size of the county ground in each county. This would mean that over the two legs of the first round, every single county in Ireland would have a home game.
This would start your championship not with one big bang but 32. This would create massive interest in each county and would be a welcome boost for county grounds, many of which seldom get a championship game at present. If finance was a worry, the second round, involving half the teams in Ireland, could be played over two games again on a home and away basis. Then you’d be down to quarter-finals and they could be played in Croke Park.
This approach is both simple and fair. How often have I had it said to me ‘Yerra, Kerry wouldn’t have won half the All-Irelands if they were in another province.’ An open draw would end that perceived inequity forever.
Some will say the provincial championships would be downgraded, that you couldn’t run the All-Ireland series and the provincial championships together and that nobody would take the latter seriously.
Judging by other sports, and indeed, other competitions within the Association, this is pure fearful speculation. Don’t the Magners League and Heineken Cup run side by side and aren’t they both growing in stature every year? Don’t the top soccer clubs in England play the Premiership, the FA Cup and the Champions League concurrently? If these three competitions can run concurrently and draw in big crowds week after week, why couldn’t our games do likewise?
Indeed, with proper promotion and marketing the provincial championships could be reinvigorated as standalone competitions. The provinces also could be given guarantee of greater financial returns from central funds in the event of an initial downturn in income. Anyway, there is too much made of the financial situation. If, as is said so often, ‘all the money goes back down the kine’ does it make much difference to counties and clubs whether it is coming from national or provincial coffers? So that is purely a budgeting and book-keeping exercise.
Having the All-Ireland series as a separate competition could also leave the way open for each province to have its own sponsor for its senior championship.
This gives us a system that’s fair, equitable, and workable. What I have outlined covers all those aspects. It is time we gave it a try.
