Kernan bemoans GAA's match scheduling

Former Armagh and Galway manager Joe Kernan has become the latest GAA figure to hit out at the Association's fixture planning.

The inter-county scene is jam-packed with matches this weekend - in football there are eight All-Ireland qualifier matches and four provincial semi-finals, while there are also two hurling qualifiers down for decision.

When you consider that there was only one football Championship match on last Sunday, this uneven amount of games from week to week leaves the GAA wide open for criticism.

Kernan, writing in his Belfast Telegraph column, said that the GAA are continuing to show "a marked disregard for its own welfare and that of the paying customers".

Referring to this summer's fixture lists as either "a feast or a famine", he opined: "In mid-May the meeting of Donegal and Antrim launched the Ulster Championship and being the only major football fixture on the national landscape that day it received saturation coverage.

"Foul weather, a preoccupation on the part of both teams with defensive strategy and a marked lack of atmosphere contributed to a sub-standard match that has long since been enthusiastically consigned by many to the dark recesses of the memory bank.

"Fast forward to last Sunday and the much more entertaining Derry v Armagh clash formed the high-profile football menu for the weekend.

"Yet this weekend there are eight first round qualifier ties on Saturday, two Leinster semi-finals fixed for Croke Park on Sunday, the Galway v Mayo Connacht semi-final in Castlebar and, of course, the attractive Ulster semi-final between Tyrone and Donegal.

"I want to direct one question to the fixtures planners - would it not have been a good idea to have arranged four of the All Ireland qualifiers for last Saturday on what was a fairly thin weekend in terms of top class matches?"

The scheduling of these fixtures was set in stone last November and leaves little room for manoeuvre, especially when giving consideration to the various county Championships around the country.

Kerry captain Colm Cooper also recently voiced his opinion on the subject, stating: "I think the season is very drawn out. The first game was Donegal and Antrim in May and I think there are too many gaps between games. Antrim lost and they don't play until June 25. It doesn't make sense in my own mind. It's nearly two months that they have to wait for another game which is crazy.

"Down are in a similar situation after losing to Armagh but I just think (the GAA) really have to look at the fixtures set-up. When you have a situation where you play your first round of the Championship and don't play again for two months it's ludicrous."

In yesterday's Irish Examiner, the GAA's director of administration and player welfare Feargal McGill argued the point and explained why it is necessary for such long-term scheduling.

"The national fixtures need to be made in November to allow County Boards to arrange the club fixture programmes. The earliest date we could have had the draw for the All-Ireland first round qualifiers was June 12. We had no way of knowing in advance who would be in that draw," said McGill.

"We had to keep June 18 free last November to allow for the possibility of New York beating Roscommon (in the Connacht Championship). Had New York beaten Roscommon, there would have had to be an extra preliminary round.

"Those who focus solely on the national Championships will ask, 'why can't we play the qualifiers any earlier?' The truth is had we done that, it would have meant club games being rescheduled.

"Anyone who knows the GAA realises weddings, holidays, christenings, even birthday parties are often planned around our games.

"So, a change like that would cause massive unrest. From our perspective, we will continue to plan eight or nine months in advance."

McGill added that the GAA would consider shortening the length of the All-Ireland Football and Hurling Championships, which currently run over the course of 19 weekends.

Asked to review the national games programme, the Association's fixture planners will in due course be making recommendations to the GAA's Central Competitions Control Committee on the matter.

While highlighting the gap in games for provincial champions - the Munster SFC winners face a four-week break after the final on July 3 - Kernan was also keen to point out how clever scheduling can boost attendances.

"I believe that the overall Championship could be further streamlined and this would not only benefit the players but would also meet with the approval of fans," he added.

"And given that crowds are not what they were, everything possible needs to be done to keep people coming through the turnstiles.

"The fact that the GAA authorities have formally confirmed that match admission prices, apart from the All-Ireland finals, are to be reduced is certainly a welcome revelation."