Munster chief Simon Moroney concerned at provincial proposals

Munster Council chief executive Simon Moroney has expressed strong reservations over a proposal to bring forward the provincial football championships to mid-April.

The GPA last week unveiled its blueprint for reforming the All-Ireland SFC, and at the centre of their submission is the recommendation to run off the provincial championships over a five-week period between mid-April and mid-May.

An eight-group All-Ireland series would then kick in during June and July, the traditional home of the provincial competitions.

“I would have serious reservations about playing the provincial championships much earlier,” said Moroney.

“Most competitions grow momentum as they progress. That is the case because there is an increasing excitement and you have good games. That would be the same for the provincial championships. The prospect of them building up momentum quite quickly the earlier they are played, I think, diminishes.”

Moroney welcomed the retention of the provincial structure in the GPA’s proposal and despite former Munster chairman Sean Fogarty calling for the abolition of the provincial championships in Tuesday’s Irish Examiner, Moroney’s says their strength is “self-evident”.

While attendances at this summer’s Munster football championship grew by 63%, replays excluded, the average winning margin increased from 6.4 to 9.4 points. The winning margin also rose in Leinster (11.5 to 11.6), with Connacht holding at 10.3.

“It is self-evident that the provincial championships are working because if you look at the statistics in relation to attendances and if you compare them with the attendances at the qualifiers, they are in slightly better health.

“We have had two very good years in succession, if not three, in terms of attendances. Anything that attracts patrons in big numbers is obviously doing something right.

“The proposal from the GPA, one of the benefits would be of a financial nature both locally and centrally. At the moment, some of the attendances at the qualifiers are a bit on the disappointing side. The 3,800 at Cork-Kildare was a disappointing figure for that stage of the competition. I know there are occasional games where you don’t have a significant attendance, but, broadly speaking, you have a significant public interest, public loyalty and attachment to the provincial championships.”

He added: “The scheduling of them [provincial championships] is between the league and the proposed All-Ireland series for one code. There is only one code. What you immediately have to look at is what is the impact on the scheduling of the hurling?”

Moroney is adamant that proposals advocating reform of the All-Ireland SFC must outline where the hurling league and championship would fit into the new football calendar.

“There is a need for an integrated and coordinated proposal. That is an absolute necessity for clear thinking. Looking at the individual codes in isolation only focuses on certain aspects of the challenge. The challenge is to mesh them together. We would run two provincial championships. We would give them equal status. We always attempt to avoid a situation where Cork, for example, wouldn’t be out in hurling and football on the one weekend.

“You do have to have regard for county players who do have commitments to their club as well.

“In my experiences, a lot of the difficulties may come from county players playing both codes with their club. You have to minimise the number of areas where they have to make a choice between one or the other.”