GAA president open to change of competition structures if called for

Among the plethora of league and championship proposals submitted to Croke Park in recent weeks is a common love for the four provinces. By Saturday that love should be reaffirmed.

That’s not saying there won’t be changes. It’s up to Management Committee and Central Council to study the various submissions and decide which, if any, should go forward for further consideration. While the hurling league structure looks poised for some immediate change, there may also be an appetite to give the football championship some sort of makeover.

Speaking about the extent and content of the submissions, GAA president Aogán Ó Fearghail admitted changes were likely in the hurling league, but that the only likely change in the football championship was the addition of a second-tier competition, which would lead back into the first-tier competition.

‘Issue the call’

“I issued the call for these proposals, and it’s fair to say a lot of them have come back,” said Ó Fearghail. “And I said when I came in as president that I wasn’t setting up separate committees to look into affairs. I expect management to manage, and Central Council to take decisions. So management will certainly take a view on them, on Friday night, on which one we feel is best for the association. And I’ll let Central Council decide that.”

There was, he added, a more immediate need to address the hurling league structure, but admitted that certain counties were keen to shake up the football championship.

“Some are complex, some are quite different,” said Ó Fearghail. “There isn’t a push to change the hurling championship, but certainly, in the league, it’s distilling down to six, seven, or eight (in the top divisions). And my focus has been on the hurling because it is more immediate. I’m not kicking the football proposals down the road but we’re not really going to take a decision on them until November.

“But the vast majority of submissions I have received so far are for the retention of the provincial championships. It looks strongly that the counties are comfortable with the provincial structures.

“But a lot of counties feel that perhaps counties in Division Four of the league in particular, that they would favour a different structure for them at qualifiers stage. And we would certainly be open to that.

“I don’t know how it will work yet, but the structure that seems to be coming is that most of the counties in Division Four want to play in the provincial championships, but if they lose their first round, they would like a separate competition – provided it brings them a route back in (to the top-tier). And we have to investigate how we do that, if that’s what we feel is best for them.”

The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) have already made public their preference for the football championship to be run off on a Champions League type format, although that may be deemed too radical for many

“Well I’m delighted that everybody, including the GPA, and our counties, have submitted quite substantial proposals,” said Ó Fearghail. “But our initial championship structure of a provincial football championship looks to me like it will be hugely supported by the vast majority of submissions we have received.”