Offaly GAA adopt controversial new structure for football championships
All senior, intermediate and junior teams to make quarter-finals
THE Offaly GAA County Board have adopted a controversial new structure for their main adult football championships with very little at stake in their group stages and every club making the quarter-finals, irrespective of results.
At a meeting on Tuesday night, delegates accepted proposals from the Competitions Control Committee where the Senior, Senior “B”, Intermediate and Junior Football Championships will consist of two groups of four but unlike other years, no club will be out of contention at that stage.
Instead the top team in each group will play the bottom team with second and third criss crossing in four quarter-finals.
Chairman of the Competitions Control Committee, James Murphy explained that they had recommended the change in response to requests by clubs for extra games.
The change, however, will not go down well with supporters as the group games will be effectively meaningless with so little at stake until the quarter-finals. It will provide very little value for money or real championship intensity for supporters and while the provision of two extra quarter-finals may ensure the books balance for the County Board, there could be a big drop off in attendances at the early stages.
In the new system, the beaten quarter-finals will then meet in two relegation semi-finals with the two losers playing to decide who drops down a grade.
Tubber's Brian Kelly was among the speakers who opposed the change and supported the old system of the top team going into the semi-final, the next two in two quarter-finals and the bottom team in a relegation play off. He predicted that it would allow the big clubs to train for a quarter-final and more or less ignore the group stages.
Edenderry chairman Willie Forde warned that it would facilitate county players to go to the USA on playing sanctions during the group stages and not be available to their clubs until the knockout games.
Chairman Michael Duignan told delegates that the Management Committee wanted to bring the Senior Football Championship up to ten teams but they couldn't do that at the moment with the Leinster Club championship structures as they wouldn't have enough time to get all games played.
Clara's Hugh Naughton proposed that it go to ten teams but Mr Duignan said he couldn't accept that.
Shannonbridge's Jim Killeen and Shamrocks' Ollie Bryant were among the delegates who spoke in favour of the new system.
Delegates voted 36-18 in favour of the change for senior football and the other adult championships were also changed.
The Junior “B” and “C” Football Championships will be decided once entries are submitted while U-20 football will revert to a knockout basis for 2024 – it was on a league basis in 2023 but will now start in late October/early November with all games played in day time hours on weekends.