THE GPA WANT a new football championship structure with a 32-team All-Ireland series of eight groups.
The association’s proposals would see seedings determined by National league standings while the provincial championships would be retained, though played off earlier in the year.
“The structure of the inter-county football competition has been a burning issue for several years and this proposal developed in consultation with players, aims to tackle the concerns raised in relation to the current structure,” GPA chief Dessie Farrell said today.
“These changes will improve the welfare of the player by tightening the competition calendar, improving the games to training ratio and enhancing the playing experience at club and county level. This proposal can help unlock the potential of our inter-county football competition from a number of important perspectives.”
This is the GPA’s proposal presentation that was released today:
https://prezi.com/cjzaxble2j87/gpa-football-competitions-proposal-with-new-all-ireland-series/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
The key points include:
- Pre-season provincial competitions (O’Byrne Cup, McGrath Cup, FBD League and Dr McKenna Cup) in January to be abolished.
- National League to start in early February with six rounds to be played over eight weeks before the conclusion in late March.
- No National League semi-finals and finals with winners to be determined by top-ranked teams in each division. Score difference or head-to-head records to apply in the event of a tie.
- The provincial championships will be retained with winners guaranteed number one seed in the All-Ireland Series. The competitions will be played out over a six-week period in April and May.
- An open draw for the All-Ireland Series takes place with one team form each seeding pot making up eight groups of four teams.
- The top eight sides go straight into the last 16, with the second and third placed teams entering the second round and the bottom team eliminated.
- The championship then takes place on a knockout basis with All-Ireland quarter-finals (July 30th-31st), All-Ireland semi-finals (Aug 13th-14th) and All-Ireland final (Sept 4th).
If the truth was known, I’d say nearly all counties are back training. Dubs and Monaghan unlucky to be caught out.
@Eoin Fitzgerald: I play for galway and we are not back
@Lorrimore: Ah Joe he did say nearly.
@Lorrimore: not a gone for a run with a team mate or two?
@Lorrimore: hard to imagine a couple of lads wouldn’t be going for runs together etc – wouldn’t be human if weren’t doing that
@BMJF: even the dogs go round in pairs in Galway.
Suspending managers means nutin. Players involved need suspension. It’s a farce. Managers will still do exactly wat the did before ban. A token suspension to appease the masses.
@Martin Glynn: Training restart date for offending counties should start a month later than counties who obeyed the rules,
@Martin Glynn: I agree, but it has to be tv rights as the reason why you don’t ban the players, the rules are there from a GAA point of view( never mind legal)so they all should be banned as well as the other county teams who done the same
@Martin Glynn: if you suspend all players who broke Covid rules you won’t have a league this year !!!
@Oliver Curley: which ones obeyed the rules?? Are you sure of which ones did? I wager very few if any have stuck to individual training or lads haven’t run further than 5km – it’s easy to criticise
@Oliver Curley: which ones obeyed the rules?? Are you sure of which ones did? I wager very few if any have stuck to individual training or lads haven’t run further than 5km
What is it about the GAA and the need to prove you are are a cute hoor when it comes to getting around the rules. Its almost like a badge of honor.
@Enda Flaherty: there are plenty of cute hoors in the GAA. If there is a rule set, some people love to able to say “We didn’t go by that rule”. Stricter punishment is needed for counties that break the rules. 12 week ban for the manager is no punishment really. Fine for the county board is the way to have it.
I’ve no doubt they’re all back in some capacity. However a 12 week ban for the bainisteoir is no punishment at all.
12 week ban should start from when training starts officially !
All counties now have a loophole(cleverly supplied by Dublin). Take a chance and if we’re caught we can suspend the manager, as that will have no impact whatsoever. Players and other team officials carry on without sanction, and manager will be back for the league. The suspension of the manager creates the impression that the powers that be are treating the matter very seriously. They must think we are all idiots. Do they really expect us to believe that the manager organized these sessions covertly and that the county board officers were unaware they were happening.
@Leonard O’mahony: supplied by the GAA last year when they banned Cork and Down manager for 12 weeks respectively one was reduced to 8 on appeal.
@Leonard O’mahony: and does anyone think that most counties haven’t been doing a bit?
Should have trained in Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi or any of the other retail majors. Socially distanced & outside!!! What we’re they thinking.l? Seriously, we’ve lost the plot at this stage, we haven’t a clue what our targets are or what’s even attainable. They’re in trouble due to breaking draconian, non-sensical, effing id!otic regulations
12 weeks is a joke, it has no impact.
Copy and paste job!
Trying to understand what’s meant by “serious error of judgement”.
As if the defence of reasonable mistake could be made, “I’m sorry, I misunderstood, mea culpa”?
What judgement was required to be made?
It was a deliberate decision taken to flout a rule that is very clear and unambiguous, impossible to misinterpret.
It couldn’t even happen to a bishop.
Simple really. County boards could be asked to disclose players travelling expenses, mileage etc. There’s many sponsored cars parked up at gyms across the country.
Once a clown,
Full head the ball that lad
Monaghan players are probably delighted they wont know themselves kicking the forward instead of backwards very negative manager
@john malonoy: kicking forwards is quite a negative tactic tbf
@john malonoy: kicking the ball forward i meant
@Cian Nolan: it’s a good tactic for a full back
What kind of society has Ireland become. Blaming teams who are training outdoors with pretty much zero risk but no blame to those making idiotic rules stopping people exercising outdoors.
No wonder Holohan is gone into hiding. NPHET said follow the science for the last year. Now when the science doesn’t suit their agenda, they say u can’t follow that science! Laughable.
@James Quinn: Holohan’s wife has passed away he’s on leave. Be better.
@James Quinn: tasteless comment regarding Holohan. Disgusting.
@James Quinn: do the honourable thing and withdraw that disgraceful comment about Holohan.
@Bruce Lee: I surely won’t apologise. He caused the deaths of over 1000 nursing home patients by moving untested patients from hospitals to nursing homes and then didn’t carry out 1 covid test for 3 weeks in the homes at the height of the virus from the end of March to the middle of April allowing to virus to spread like wildfire. He knew long before the virus came here that it affected the elderly but he done nothing about it.
The man is despicable as his behaviour recently showed when he wouldn’t apologise for the cervical scandal a few years ago. How u can defend him is beyond me.
@Paul Lee: Please elaborate there Paul. Have u been under a rock for the last few years an not witnessed Holohans behaviour? Ask Vicky Phelan and plenty more who are still alive what they think of Holohan. As u say, his behaviour surely was disgusting and no remorse for his actions.
Just ban counties who break the rules from this year’s championship,that’ll soften their cough.
Not good enough.
Suggest Government should delay opening senior GAA for 2-3 weeks.
Allow kids to participate.
BRAINLESS…& WE still CANT PLAY golf. Wake up Mehole & co.
But of course…it’s the Vote gaining GAA again. Wolfe ruined it for Golfers GAA get away with it.
No wonder is wasn’t classed as an elite sport. So much disrespect shown to guidelines and rules. Did anyone expect anything less from the GAA, players need punishing, not the management.
Not to mention character references being provided for r@pists- spouting rubbish that it’s not on the club/org behalf yet the author making a huge deal about the gaa connections & the org response is concern it might negatively impact them as opposed to a victim/survivor- toxic to the last
Should have trained in Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi or any of the other retail majors. Socially distanced & outside!!! What we’re they thinking.l? Seriously, we’ve lost the plot at this stage, we haven’t a clue what our targets are or what’s even attainable. They’re in trouble due to breaking draconian, non-sensical, effing idiotic regulations
It was just banty.
These inter county managers are on huge salaries. Will they continue to be paid while they are not working?
Cut funding to the county.