GPA Unveil Proposal for Football Championship Restructure

The Gaelic Players Association has unveiled its Football Competitions Proposal which has been submitted to the GAA as part of the Association’s competition structures review.

This document was produced following a consultative process with all players and county football squads. 

Detailing the proposal on their website, the GPA write;

The Proposal positions the views of a majority of county players and the GPA believes it is a catalyst for a productive debate regarding the restructuring of the football season.

The GPA specifically questioned counties from the lower Divisions regarding a new structure and the majority of counties rejected the inclusion of a secondary competition in any proposal.

The principal component of the format proposed in the model is the addition to the League and Provincial Championships of a new All-Ireland Series – a 32-team series of eight groups with seedings determined by NFL standings and Provincial Championships.

The GPA working group believes the inclusion of this new series will provide a serious impetus for inter-county football competition while facilitating an improvement in the club fixture schedule.

Some of the other key points contained in the Proposal include:

Better playing experience
A fairer and more equitable competition structure
Increased number of high profile games for all counties
Pre-determined closed and pre seasons
An increase in the games to training ratio
More structure to county and club championships
League and Provincial Championships directly linked to new All-Ireland Series
Improved experience for supporters
Enhanced commercial revenue for the GAA at central and county level
High profile games in regional venues boosting local economies
An overwhelming number of county squads have favoured the GPA Proposal over the current system and the players’ body is recommending that the system be trialled over a two-year period and then reviewed.

Alternative competition models have been developed by former players in recent years and while elements of these models were favoured by current players, in particular the inclusion of an eight-group series, the retention of some of the traditional structures remained important for a number of counties. 

Click HERE to view the GPA football proposal. 

Click HERE to view an overview of the proposal.

Let us know your thoughts on this proposal, email sport@redfm.ie or tweet us @BigRedBench on Twitter.

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