Let’s see if the GAA can guess what the problem is based on this clue:
The provincial structure is the problem.
Well? Any guesses?
We’re going to hit this every single year because the complaints that everyone has about the football championship can be solved by changing one thing the GAA are going to refuse to change for as long as they possibly can.
- Not enough competitive games
- Not enough football
- No chance of progression for weaker counties
- An unfair imbalance in the paths teams have to take
All these things could be salvaged by getting rid of the provincial format and, whilst, the Super 8s will bring with it a couple of more appetising fixtures – without the drama of knockout football and a few more dead rubbers as well – it didn’t even try to fix the actual problem with the championship which has been everything before the quarter-final stages.
There shouldn’t be a case, like there is again this year, where Kerry are required to win just two games to reach the last eight and Donegal have to win at least four. Whatever about the standard of teams that each county has to face – Kerry are the only Munster side in Division One – it’s just crazy that those basic mathematics are allowed to continuously screw some counties over every single season because of some uneven and archaic province boundary that has unfortunately and without reason determined certain counties must come through a tougher path to reach the same stage as other counties.
In 2016, Kerry beat Clare, they beat Tipperary and then they beat Clare again and they were in the All-Ireland semi-final. Three games against two teams – both of whom were Division Three sides at the time. In 2017, Monaghan played six matches and won five of them and that took them the whole way to the last eight.
That setup didn’t exactly help Kerry either and they’ll be glad of the Super 8s to get more miles on the road before thinking about beating Dublin or Mayo in knockout football but it’s actually laughable that certain counties have to still do more – in some cases, win more 150 per cent more games than others just to reach the same stage. No-one in the GAA could ever logically, legitimately, or popularly argue against those staggering bare facts.
A World Cup-style format wouldn’t just reinvigorate every single county in the football championship, but it would make it fair, it would give everyone a fighting chance, have more games at the height of the summer and cater for weaker counties who also want a shot of success.
And it’s very damn simple.
- Scrap the provinces
- Eight groups of four – seeded by National League divisions
- The top two qualify for the last 16 of the senior championship
- The bottom two (3rd and 4th) qualify for the last 16 of the intermediate championship
It means every county is guaranteed at least four games in the football championship, it means the best teams will be playing each other in knockout games at the right time, and it means everyone has a chance of winning something but, most importantly, they all get to come back next year with a shot at the big guns again.
Waterford
Now take Waterford’s example for 2018.
By the end of February, Waterford will have played almost 55 per cent of their entire competitive fixtures for 2018.
By the end of of March, Waterford could have played almost 82 per cent of their entire competitive fixtures for 2018.
Because of where they’re from on the map and because of how lopsided the GAA fixtures plan is with most football being played by March, Waterford will probably play two competitive games for the last nine months of the calendar year.
From April onwards, they’ll likely be in action just twice.
- 2 McGrath Cup games
- 7 National League games
- 2 Championship games
There is, of course, potential that they can play another game in the league if they better their seventh place Division Four finish last year and reach the final and they can also, of course, win a championship match to extend their run but the odds suggest they’ll lose away to Tipperary and still be outsiders for the first round of the qualifiers.
How are they supposed to progress as a football county with that nonsense going on?
Where are the heroes going to spring from for kids? Where are the memories of endless summer days traipsing around the country to follow these men?
It’s bad enough that a lot of of the best footballers in Waterford can’t play because they’re playing hurling and it’s worse that the club football champions of the county didn’t get to represent the Deise in Munster this season, but the idea that the GAA’s format is restricting them from making any progression is hard to understand.
Tyrone
Tyrone, by contrast, will have way more opportunities to play ball but it’s not all going to help them.
The Ulster champions are guaranteed at least three McKenna Cup matches and, when they qualify from their group, they’re in a semi-final (Munster’s system goes straight to the decider) so they have the possibility of playing five games before the league even starts.
And it’s not like they’re playing a second string like Dublin. In their hammering of Antrim, Mickey Harte boasted a very, very strong Red Hand team.
After the league, Tyrone then have to win three provincial matches to win Ulster and qualify for a guaranteed extra three games. Those guaranteed games should be reserved for the weaker counties and they should be used to address the imbalance in the system but the rich really do get richer here and the poor get cut off.
But there’s still the unfairness that Tyrone have to play more games than the like of Kerry do to reach the quarter-final in the first place.
There’s still the question of who each county has to play and how and why it’s decided like it is.
Then there’s Waterford who might have two games from April onwards. They’ll play nine of their probable 11 matches by March 25 and the club footballers won’t be able to really get stuck into action anyway because they’ll have to wait on the hurlers.
Meanwhile, Tyrone could potentially (and very likely) have 18 or 19 matches before the All-Ireland semi-final.
It’s a slog for them, it’s unfair for them. It’s worse for Waterford who are just being allowed to drift in the current climate.
