PROVINCIAL football leagues to replaces the whole of the pre-season, National League and provincial championships are among the proposals being put forward by the Club Players’ Association.
The body has this morning released its own plans for implementing a split season calendar in the GAA, a move which has gathered huge momentum in recent weeks.
Proposing that the All-Ireland finals take place across the first two weekends in July, the CPA has proposed two different plans that centre on the structure of football’s primary competitions.
The first option is the provincial football league that would be split up provincially, with two groups of six in Leinster and two groups of five in Ulster, into which Longford would move.
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Munster and Connacht would consist of one group each, with their top two playing in a final, while in Leinster and Ulster it would be the top team in each group.
The groups would be used to determine seeding for the All-Ireland series, which would be run as eight groups of four teams.
It’s proposed that the top two in each group move into the Tier One championship, which becomes straight knockout, while the other 16 teams (including London, but not New York) would go into Tier Two and operate on the same knockout basis.
Option Two would see the country split geographically into four conferences of eight teams, based on a north/south/east/west approach.
It would, for instance, mean Cavan would play in the eastern section, and the CPA acknowledges that getting counties to leave their traditional province is one of the primary barriers to both their plans.
The leagues would be played as per the current National League, a single round of seven games, with the top four in each section qualifying for Tier One, and the bottom four going into Tier Two.
The previous year’s Tier Two winners would automatically qualify for the top tier the following year and would replace the fourth-placed team in their own province.
The 16 teams in Tier One would be split into four groups of four, with the top two in each going on to the quarter-finals.
The CPA’s feeling is that this option would also retain many of the local rivalries, and give more certainty to county teams in terms of exactly when their games will be played.
Hurling’s structures would also get a revamp, with 12 teams in the Liam McCarthy Cup. The Division One league would remain, but the lower tiers would see league and championships merge in a bid to increase the number of games and streamline promotion and relegation based on championship performances.
The plans for hurling are the same across both of the CPA’s proposals, which they have put forward to “show what is possible”.
“We believe that the time is right, the opportunity exists and the public support is in place to establish a split season that gives club and county a fair share of coverage.
“We are not saying our plans are perfect, but what we are saying is that we have a golden opportunity now to be better for our players,” said a CPA statement.
Key points
Option One
- Provincial football leagues replace the pre-season, National League and provincial championships
- Two groups in Leinster and Ulster, one each in Munster and Connacht
- Groups used to determine seeding for championship
- London take part, New York don’t
- All 32 counties take part in the All-Ireland football championship
- Eight groups of four, top two in each into Tier One, bottom two into Tier Two
- Last 16 onwards in both competitions straight knockout
- Liam McCarthy Cup becomes 12-team competition, NHL Division One remains
- Lower tier competitions restructured to merge league and championship
- Clubs given from end of second weekend in July until end of October to run county championships
- Provincial and All-Ireland club championships finished by mid-December
- Two-week closed season at the end of the year
Option Two
- Provincial football leagues replace pre-season and National League
- Organised geographically on four groups of eight, removing traditional provincial structures
- Top four teams in each group go into All-Ireland Tier One, bottom four into Tier Two
- All-Ireland SFC based on four groups of four, top two in each group qualify for knockout, bottom two eliminated
- Tier Two run on same basis
- Hurling structures as in Option One
- Club window as in option one
