GAA Congress today passed the introduction of round robin quarter-finals for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
BY CHRIS MCNULTY
It means that, from 2018, there will be two groups of four for the quarter-finals, after it was passed having garnered the support of 76 per cent of delegates at Congress, held at Croke Park.
This was in spite of opposition from the GPA and the newly-formed CPA in the last week.
In another huge change from GAA tradition, the All-Ireland hurling and football finals will be played in August, as 78 per cent of delegates voted to switch from their usual September dates.
The introduction of the ‘Super 8’ series of All-Ireland quarter-finals is the big talking point of the Congress, however.
The format will come into being next year for a three-year period initially.
The Donegal County Board Chairman, Sean Dunnion, was one of the speakers who addressed the Congress to speak in favour of the motion.
‘The feeling coming through very strongly from out clubs is we need more windows for club football,” Dunnion said.
“While we want our club to have windows for League and Championship, the one thing these proposals do is give clubs a definitive season for the first time.
“They’ll allow the counties to schedule their fixtures in a structured way.
“We need a lot more restructuring, but our clubs were very strong in saying this was an important first step. This is why our clubs have supported the proposals on a trial basis.”
The groupings in year one (2018) will be as follows:
Group 1 – Munster provincial winner, Connacht provincial winner, Ulster runner-up or team that defeats them in round 4 of the Qualifiers, Leinster runner-up or team that defeats them in round 4.
Group 2 – Ulster provincial winner, Leinster provincial winner, Munster runner-up or team that defeats them in round 4 for the Qualifiers, Connacht runner-up or team that defeats them in round 4.
The groups in the succeeding years will be determined by Central Council.
Each team will have one home match, one away match, and one match at Croke Park.
In the All-Ireland semi-finals, the Group 1 Quarter-Final winner will play the Group 2 Quarter-Final runner-up, and the Group 2 Quarter-Final winner will play the Group 1 Quarter-Final runner-up.
Árd Stiúrthóir Páraic Duffy was a big driver of the motions.
‘Irish society is changing very fast,’ he told delegates.
‘We have to be aware of that and we have to adapt to that. Falling attendances is an issue we have to address. We have to try something.
‘What have we got to lose by passing this motion? The answer is nothing. All we’re asking you is to give an idea a trial run.
‘Nothing that is done here today cannot be undone. What are we afraid of?. We have nothing to lose but we could have a lot to gain. Lets have the confidence in ourselves that could rejuvenate the football championship.’
The All-Ireland semi-finals are to be played over the one weekend while delegates today also voted overwhelmingly in favour of scrapping replays. Outside of provincial and All-Ireland finals, extra time will be played in all games after 91 per cent of delegates voted to do away with replays in other ties.
Last night, on Day One of Congress, John Horgan from Dublin was elected as the new President-elect of the GAA after polling 144 of the 278 votes that were cast.
