'Be careful what you ask for' - Kerry GAA chief's warning over regrading of clubs' second teams

WARNING: Kerry CEO Peter Twiss - 'Second team players are also entitled to competitive football', he told Board delegates. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

IN a radical move that is likely to have serious implications for bigger, urban GAA clubs, Kerry's Senior Football Leagues will consist of club's first teams only in 2026 - with 'B' and 'C' teams consigned to playing each other in junior leagues. The decision follows a Lispole motion passed at a County Board meeting Monday night.

Th west Kerry club sought at separate standalone Junior Football Co League competition exclusively for ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams that would run concurrently with the senior league - in effect making the SFL for first teams only.

The objective is seeking a fairer playing field for smaller rural clubs in lower divisions who don't have the same player base as the bigger clubs, thus allowing clubs with similar challenges and similar resources to compete against each other throughout all divisions on a like for like basis.

The decision will result in Senior County League Divisions 4 and 5 consisting of 11 teams each. (Div 1-3 would remain at 12 teams in each) based on 58 playing clubs as per 2025.

Lispole's Kevin Griffin explained: "The idea is that senior county league will be for A teams only with a junior county league for B and C teams. It is just a small tweak. Divisions 1-4 would remain the same, it really only affects Divisions 5 and 6. 

"Our experience in Division 5 playing B teams - depending on the day or the time of the year - they can be very weak one week and very strong another week, so it just creates inconsistencies and anomalies, it’s not right. The county leagues have served the county well, we have 60 clubs and we think that the county league should be for those clubs."

He added: "The lower divisions are where you will find the small, rural and the struggling club. We are all proud clubs but we are all similar in terms of resources and player base and we should be all playing each other. We don’t believe that club's second or B teams should be mixed in small clubs in division 5. The aim of the motion is to provide a much fairer competition," he said.

Cromane delegate Patrick Casey supported the motion to protect rural clubs and he also had issues with the big clubs naming injured players on their first fifteens.

The Board's CCC chair, Terence Houlihan, pointed out that the change would create an anomoly following Dr Crokes' second team promotion to Division 4 but it was up to the clubs to vote on what they want -  the CCC will run the competition accordingly.

County CEO Peter Twiss also reminded delegates that 'B' teams were a very important to bigger clubs: “I would suggest be careful what you ask for, in case you get it. A good 'B' team is usually part of a bigger club and the 15/20 players on that B team need football as much as anyone else. 

"If they are playing and hammering teams by 15 or 20 points, that is no good to them or for their development or pathway to their A team. (But) those players are also entitled to competitive football. So if you guardrail them into a B competition where they are playing 'B' teams only, who would not be up to their level, you could end up with a one-sided competition where there are now winners. But it’s up to the clubs involved to make their case, but I am saying just watch that anomaly.“ 

When the vote was taken, the motion was passed by a 23-18 majority.

A Ballyduff motion that will see the end of play-offs to decide who is promoted or relegated when they finish level on points was also passed. Three other motions were not put to the floor as the clubs submitting them were not present, a situation Mr Twiss said was “unacceptable”.