THE GPA HAVE revealed why they are opposed to the revamp of the All-Ireland senior football championship, which will be debated at GAA Congress this weekend.
The ‘Super 8′ proposal – which will seek to introduce a round-robin system at the quarter-final stage – has attracted fierce criticism with club and inter-county players opposing it.
In a statement released today, the GPA stated that they are in favour of a proposed switch of the All-Ireland finals from September to August, and the proposal for extra-time to decide all drawn games, with the exception of finals.
But they outlined some of the reasons why they are against the planned ‘Super 8′ changes.
- The lack of sufficient and meaningful consultation with players regarding all aspects of the proposal.
- The fact that the proposals offer little by way of change for lower ranked counties who are traditionally less successful than those competing at the latter stages of the championship.
- cThe motivational impact for players competing at the lower end of the Championship which may be negatively impacted leading to concerns about the longer term sustainability of the football championship.
- The fact that the proposed format will do little to alleviate the increasing gap between higher and lower ranked counties.
- The reality that there will be no incentive for provincial winners over other teams who qualify for the quarter-final stage. Provincial winners would now have to play an additional three games in order to reach the semi-final.
“The inter-county game is the pinnacle at which players at all levels strive to play at,” remarked GPA chief executive Dermot Earley.
“The idea of players participating in a competition with a revised format which does not have the support of over 70% of squads is something the GPA finds impractical.
“The GPA is calling on delegates to oppose the motion being put to the GAA Congress this weekend.
“The GPA is reiterating the need for meaningful collaborative engagement with all stakeholders to bring about agreed change which is critically important to the future of our games.
“The GPA feels that any change should also be cognisant of the impact on all competitions including the All Ireland Hurling Championship, Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups.”
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8 groups of 4 (seeded), Each group winner into quater finals, Everyone garunteed 3 games, Takes 6 games to win the all ireland. You could also have home and away games in the groups therefore every team garunteed at least 6 games with 9 games needed to win all ireland. IMO alll games should be played on the same weekend meaning more streamlined fixtures schedule. Think of how many under used grounds there are around the country. Think how much these towns would benefit economically (food, drink, accom, public transport). This is easily done if the dinosaurs who crave these decision making roles have the will to do it (which they def don’t due to severe ignorance).
The amount of stadiums going to waste is crazy. Best days out in GAA aren’t even going to Croke Park, it’s Thurles, Killarney etc and the buzz around town. This is pretty good idea, worth a trial anyway.
From listening to Joe Brolly and Liam Griffin on Newstalk last night, it sounds like the CPA are (understandably) extremely unhappy at not being invited to speak at Congress. There is a huge rift developing, that will only get bigger if this “Super 8″ proposal gets the go-ahead. It would be incredible to think that it could still be voted in, with both the GPA and CPA opposing it.
Watch this space…
Something has to be done because the current set up isn’t working.A CL set up maybe none of this back door crap as it only suits the stronger teams
Well you could make the point that a group stage would suit the stronger teams even more. A lot is being done to try and make it a level playing field, but the one thing about GAA in football or hurling is that the best teams always come to the top, much more so than other sports. This is due to the high scoring nature of the games. However I would like to see if there is some way the league and Championship can be combined because the league is a very attractive competition. The only upside to super 8s I can see is the home and away fixtures which I think there should be more of in the GAA for big games. Bring the games back to the locals and build the atmosphere again.. .. on a side note since when is Alan B concerned with the running of the GAA, being a self proclaimed soccer and rugby supporter over GAA…
@Lad that’s true, the best teams will always prevail. With a CL style tournament tho it gives everyone a garunteed number of games, you know who your opposition will be and it allows for everyone to have home games. That is what makes the championship special, travelling around the country having the craic, watching the top players rock up in your local town/city. It’s sad that we all agree on this except the fat old insulated norrow mined men that run the GAA up and down the country.
Yes they always come to the top because of the back door
They do so because they have the best players. The same teams will be in the latte stages 85% of the time, it’s the same in every sport on the planet. Restructuring the championship isn’t about giving weaker teams an easier run than stronger ones, it’s about giving everybody a fair crack of the whip, giving them basic opportunities such as playing in front of big crowds, playing home matches, playing the big teams, playing more games and less training sessions, playing games within a structured calender.
Like in fairness it’s not that hard. 32 teams. Champions league format where everyone is guaranteed 3 games. Whatever proposal weaker teams will have good seasons and poor seasons but at least they will be guaranteed 3 games. You could even have top team into a quarter final and second and third place goes through to a last 16 or something to make sure there are no meaningless games.
I’m wondering if Paraic Duffy is just playing clever tactics here. Basically every previous proposal failed because the Provincial Councils were afraid of losing their own championships. The “Super 8″ keeps those but then introduces the concept of a mini group stage. I reckon he’s hoping the reaction to the group stage will be so positive, that it will directly lead to a clamour to extend it to ALL counties. We have to reshape the mould before deciding to break it. That’s my theory.
The super 8 idea is a money spinner for HQ simple as, the 8 groups of 4 are the best idea with the bottom two of each group playing a b championship. It is only a matter of time before it happens.