“The development of the qualifiers in both hurling and football are, to a very large extent, dependent on the provincial structure. I think if we move away from that a very radical structure may actually destabilise and may not generate the public interest. At the end of the day, what you need is competitive games that are relatively close to the people who are going to them.” – Ulster secretary Danny Murphy, July 2012
“There’s no point in being bouncing out of your skin come May, June, July even and just falling flat then in August and September. It’s a gradual build-up as you go along” – Kerry footballer Darran O’Sullivan, May 2012
John Fogarty
The provincial championships aren’t going away any time soon. That’s the thing people need to get into their heads.
As much as it will take 11 weeks to finish them, as much as it’s taken the Connacht Council 10 weeks to this Sunday to finish a competition that has just seven teams, they retain a relevancy.
As Danny Murphy says, proximity is essential in the GAA. It binds and defines as much as it divides supporters in terms of same goal and rivalry. And in these brutal economic times, the shorter the distance to games the better.
Murphy, in all fairness, is speaking from a lofty enough position considering Ulster football has hardly lost any of its verve or appeal. The same can’t be said for the other three provinces, which have encountered all sorts of difficulties in selling their product.
Something will have to change but there will have to be a level of realism attached to anything put forward.
While people may hark back to the tens of thousands who attended provincial games on a weekly or biweekly basis in the straight knock-out, there is more of an even spread now thanks to qualifiers and quarter-finals.
The second chance has ensured that. When the circus crowd see there’s a safety net under the trapeze artist they’re not going to get as excited.
It’s only in July that it’s removed and until then interest is generally lukewarm. But for all the well-intentioned ideas of open draws and Champions League formats to improve the championship, it is mere pie in the sky.
A redrawing of the provincial football competitions, mentioned by former GAA president Christy Cooney in Congress last year, is a more workable option as it retains at least a semblance of the provincial structure.
Four divisions of eight teams with reasonably close proximity to one another might just be digested in time by the rank and file.
Our suggestion would be for each division to be split into two groups of four, each county playing three games, with the table-toppers qualifying for the divisional final.
The divisional winners would face off with the winners through to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the other two last-four spots being decided by various play-offs (see proposal below).
16 counties would be guaranteed a minimum of three games over a short period – one more than they’re already promised and within a much considerate timeframe.
In all, the championship, barring replays, would involve approximately 69 games – just nine more than the 60 in the current format.
With a more defined structure at provincial/divisional level, the club game would hardly be affected.
And yet, at the same time, teams would be getting more games than they are currently playing.
As GPA chairman Dónal Óg Cusack recently stated about the need for championship restructuring, both players and supporters wants more matches.
“I know we have introduced the backdoor system and it brings more games but players are putting in a phenomenal effort during the winter and the reason they are training is to play the games,” he said.
“And I think from a supporters’ point of view they want to see more games. I think whatever we come up with should involve more games. The big challenge the Association has and players have and the one thing to remember is every inter-county player is a club player and it can’t impact with that.”
It’s often the case that the club scene is conveniently forgotten at this time of year and when musing about Champions League formats. But if the provinces were to be realigned and made symmetrical in shape and size they would be afforded more breathing space.
Shunning the provincial structure is unfeasible given how much it’s infused in the fabric of the GAA. At the same time, thinking the Championship in its current format can continue without suffering is naive.
A happy medium will have to be found – one way or the other.
Proposal in brief
- 32 counties divided into four groups of eight largely based on current provincial boundaries (New York and London play preliminary qualifiers).
- Each division is separated randomly into two groups of four with each team facing the other three teams once (48 games).
- The winners of each group face other in divisional finals (four games).
- The four divisional winners progress to All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals (two games) with the two winners qualifying for the All-Ireland semi-finals (two games).
- The eight second-placed divisional group teams go into a draw (four games) with the four winners facing the four divisional final runners-up (four games).
- The four victors are drawn to face each other (two games), the two qualifiers facing the preliminary semi-final losers (two games) to see who fills the remaining two spots in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/ea9B2fnbwjs/post.aspx
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