Only 12% of club players agree with Super 8 championship format

The Club Players Association surveyed 4,983 club players in the past week on a number of issues.

Just 12% of club players are in favour of the Super 8 football championship format which was green-lighted at GAA Congress last month, writes Stephen Barry.

The Club Players Association (CPA) revealed that only 603 of the 4,983 club players surveyed in the past week backed the decision, with 60% (2,996) against its introduction. 28% (1,384) of players were unsure whether it’d be a good or bad thing.

The CPA had asked the GAA to delay the decision to facilitate consultation with club players, who it’s feared will suffer from a lack of regular fixtures throughout the summer period. However, the motion was passed by a 76% majority of delegates.

The CPA had registered close to 25,000 members in the two months after their launch in January, although a vote for the GAA to recognise the body was withdrawn after some debate at Congress.

The survey also further clarified the priorities of the CPA, with players asked to give three improvements they’d like to see implemented.

71.8% (3,577) said they wanted to see “an unchangeable and predictable fixtures schedule” introduced, while 45.6% (2,271) called for “regular games during the summer”.

“A defined holiday period” was a top-three demand for 40.9% (2,039) of members and, on a similar topic, 38.3% (1,909) called for “a calendar year fixture list” to be implemented.

More than 20% also called for “regular and meaningful games”, “a defined closed season”, “more availability of county players” and “less training, more games”, in that order of priority. These requests confirm the CPA’s core message to “Fix The Fixtures”.

Committee members of the Club Players Association.

In addition to those responses, 185 players filled in the “Other” box, with some calling for the abolishment of the provincial championships or the 13-day rule, while others replied with examples of their dissatisfaction.

• “We are told in Mayo that last group championship game is whenever Mayo get knocked out of championship.”
• “I work shift work and it's very frustrating knowing when to book time off or not. Dates should be set in January and not changed due to championship, stags, weddings, etc.”
• “This year, the club championship programme wasn't confirmed until last week and we also found out that our first round game is being played a month earlier than usual. How is a club player supposed to plan a holiday or life in this situation!!”
• “This year the Cork Intermediate Hurling League started in the 1st week and will not complete until October. There are only 6 or 7 matches. It does not make sense.”
• “The stop start season is abysmal. We won a county final last year in my club and played 7 competitive games for 11 months of training. People are being turned away from the game and will continue to do so by this.”
• ”Inter county draws were made last October/November but yet in Galway there is still no masters fixtures plan released in late March. Impossible to plan holidays or life in general.”
• “I'm 34 and approaching my last year or two of playing but if I was only 20 or 21 I'd be seriously considering walking away from GAA.”

The survey also attempted to reflect the level of players engagement in the decision-making process, with 81.5% (4,063) saying they’ve attended their club’s AGM and two-thirds (3,322) saying they’ve attended a committee meeting.