Horan: Football needs evolution, not revolution

GAA president John Horan has admitted that Gaelic football has become more like ‘Gaelic handball’ though has claimed it’s only in need of evolution, not revolution.

Horan presided over Saturday’s Central Council meeting which gave the green light for five new rule changes to be experimented with. That period of experimentation will begin on Saturday week, when Leinster’s O’Byrne Cup campaign begins.

Horan made his comments to LMFM Radio on Sunday when he attended the opening of new facilities at the St Oliver Plunketts GAA grounds in Drogheda. Meath and Louth played a challenge game at the venue — with both managers recently critical of the rules tweaks.

Louth boss Wayne Kierans predicted they’d ‘dumb down’ the game while Meath boss Andy McEntee said trialling rules rules in the league will make an important competition “a bit of an experiment”.

Horan said: “I know some managers and players have come out very negatively about the proposals made by our standing playing rules committee but we have a responsibility as administrators to make sure the game is entertaining,” said Horan.

“Players and managers, I know, their priority is winning.

“It’s a trial period, it’s not something that’s going to be set in stone. We’ll be careful in considering the outcome of those changes.

Hopefully, they will cause the game to be come somewhat more entertaining because I think as it is now I think it’s become somewhat defensive and somewhat of a defensive-oriented game.

“I understand managers don’t want to be giving the ball away easily and they want to get productivity out of it but it is Gaelic football. Really, in a lot of ways, it’s becoming Gaelic handball because the ratio of hand passes, it’s about 3:1 now and that’s not really healthy or enjoyable.”

Horan continued:

Rather than needing a revolution as an organisation, we’re so strong that I think evolution is the way that’s best for us to move forward.

Saturday’s Central Council meeting also reported ‘broad support for the introduction of a second-tier football championship’ though deferred until January any decision to support that structure.

Horan has made no secret of his desire to oversee the introduction of a second tier and the plan is to identify a preferred model and vote on it at February’s Annual Congress.

“I’m quite surprised because I know in one of my first interviews I did say it would be one of my ambitions in my three-year term that we would have a tier two competition,” he said.

It just gathered so much momentum that I think we’re at the stage now where I think we will.