WHAT is blatantly obvious from the aftermath of last weekend’s Congress vote on the proposals for championship format restructuring is that change is needed. It is not only needed but wanted, and from everything I have seen, read, or heard, there are several main sticking points for any proposal to consider if it wants to be successful. All counties want to have the opportunity of winning silverware while also being able to compete for the country’s most prestigious prize, the Sam Maguire Cup. Some counties also expressed contentment in playing for a second-tier competition. Players also stated that they wanted to have more competitive games against teams of the same level as well as teams of a higher level.

There has also been an interest to have the league format and the championship format combined as well as an indecisiveness about what to do with the Provincial Championships. Some feel that for three of the four Provincials, they have run their course competitively with Ulster claiming to be the only one left with any competitive value. There are a strong group of traditionalists that feel they should not only stay but need to be incorporated into the All-Ireland series so that they do not become undervalued as a stand-alone competition.

Below is a format that my late father created back in the late 90s which I have tweaked to help fulfill the modern-day requests that have arisen for proposal makers to consider. I feel it is a very sound format that tries to appease all those requests that have been highlighted.

THE PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

This proposal would propose for the Provincial championships to be kept, with the aim to try and make them more competitive especially in Munster, Leinster, and Connaught but massive investment in the lower counties will be needed for that to happen, financially, logistically, coaching, grass roots etc. would all need a revamp/boost in these counties.

The provincial championship rounds would be run off weekly (Prelim/QF/SF/F) with all being played the same week in every province. It would be completed without any breaks in between rounds and no replays with all games being decided on the day. This would finish the Provincials in a four-week period. There would then be a two-week break between the Provincials and the All-Ireland Series.

How do we keep the value of the provincial competitions? I propose that the four winners would be automatically placed into Pot One of the All-Ireland Series. This would be the first seeded pot of eight pots for choosing the championship format.

THE ALL-IRELAND SERIES

Using the finishing places of counties in the previous year’s championship, all teams will be ranked from number one to number 32. Counties would then be divided into Seeded Pots of four and with the four Provincial winners being in Pot One, the rest of the 28 teams would be reranked from five to 32. From there Pot Two would house teams ranked five to eight; Pot Three would have teams nine to 12 and so on until Pot eight has teams 29 to 32.

One team from each Pot is placed into four seeded groups of eight teams (like the UEFA World Cup Qualifiers). Every team would play each other twice in Home & Away fixtures giving every team 14 group matches. Reversing the fixtures already played by the midway point means all teams would start and finish their league campaigns playing against the teams that are of the same level as themselves leaving an exciting climax to each of the four leagues. It will also try to eliminate any possible dead rubber games. There would be no breaks between league fixtures and would run for fourteen straight weeks.

Fixture examples:

l Fixtures for team 1 would be as follows Teams: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Fixtures for team 5 would be: Teams 6 7 8 1 4 3 2 2 3 4 1 8 7 6

l Fixtures for team 8 would be: Teams 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The four teams that finish top of each group would be deemed the group winners and receive a trophy. The top four teams in each group would be seeded and progress to the Sam Maguire Cup and the bottom four teams in each group would be seeded and progress to the Tailteann Cup. This gives every county the chance to play for the Sam Maguire while also incorporating a second cup. Seeding the playoff draw incentivises teams to finish as high up their group as possible to receive a more ‘favourable’ draw.

Using the final group standings, the teams would be again divided into eight pots of four teams. For the Sam Maguire teams in Pot 1 would be drawn against teams in Pot 4 and teams in Pot 2 drawn against Pot 3. For the Tailteann, teams in Pot 5 would be drawn against teams in Pot 8 and teams in Pot 6 drawn against Pot 7. As they are drawn into the Quarter Final spots it will also determine the Semi-Final pairings also.

There would be a one week break before the playoffs would begin with them all being played in Croke Park. A week break between rounds would be afforded to assist player recovery. The playoffs could be played in one of two ways.

The first way would be to play both the Quarter Final and Semi-Final stages as two legged games with aggregate scoring deciding the winner (no replays/extra time after 2nd game). The Final would remain as a one match winner takes all game but would be the only game to be afforded a replay if finishes drawn. This option would allow for more games for players while also generating more revenue.

The second option would be to keep them traditional, with Quarter Finals, Semi-Finals, and Final all run as straight knockout, winner takes all on the day with no replays. Both playoff options would be run off within six-eight weeks, taking the total season time to 28 weeks (7 months). The playoff matches would all be of mixed double headers i.e. – Tailteann Cup matches being paired up with Sam Maguire games as curtain raisers. This will ensure that the Tailteann Cup does not lose its credibility and can be marketed alongside the Sam Maguire games.

All in all, this format provides solutions for all desired changes that have been highlighted. Playing home and away with seeded teams also generates revenue for local economies especially when the better teams visit teams they would not usually have played against in the previous formats. Teams get to play against teams of a similar ability and of a lesser/better ability which allows them to develop themselves properly.

It also gives teams more competitive games as well as allowing all teams to compete for the Sam Maguire but also has a second trophy for those who fail to progress to the Sam Maguire playoffs.

In my humblest of opinions, I believe it is a strong contender to solve the championship format issues. Whatever the future holds change needs to happen! For the full proposal which includes the pre-championship competitions and U17/U19 grades you can contact me, and I will forward it on.

Email: pmgoalkeeping@hotmail.com

Facebook: @MSoG11

Twitter: @MorSchGk