U-21 change likely
C.C.C. suggests adding extra grade
MOTIONS TO determine the league and championship structures for 2017 will be thin on the ground when club delegates convene at a County Board meeting in the Talbot Hotel tonight (Tuesday).
Clongeen are calling for a novel approach to the Senior and Intermediate championships only, whereby all twelve teams would be included in one group but with only five games each.
That would mean that in all cases, a club would only meet five of their potential eleven opponents, and it would be highly unlikely for any two clubs to end up playing the exact same teams.
After the first round draw is made in February, Clongeen propose that all future rounds be drawn on the Monday after the previous games have been played. When five rounds are completed, they want the top eight teams to advance to quarter-finals.
If two teams finished level on points and have played, the result will determine who advances. If they haven’t met, or if three or more teams are level on points, it will go down to score difference and, if necessary, whoever has the most scores for.
The quarter-final pairings would be 1 v. 8, 2 v. 7, 3 v. 6 and 4 v. 5, with the winners of the first two games to be kept apart in the semi-final draw.
Team 9 would be finished for the year, while 10 would play 11 before the losers would meet team 12 in the relegation final.
Horeswood want to amalgamate the Junior ‘A’ and Junior ‘B’ football championships to be run as a Junior ‘A’ championship at District level. And if a club had two teams at that level, the ‘A’ side would play first to determine status.
The C.C.C. are proposing the addition of an extra grade in the Under-21 championships. They are suggesting that 16 teams be graded Premier, with the remaining participating as usual at Roinn 1 level in the Districts.
Following round one of the Premier, the eight winners would contest the Premier ‘A’ quarter-finals with the other eight in the Premier ‘B’ quarter-finals. That would ensure a minimum of two games rather than the current situation of one for every participant.
Staying with Under-21, Ballygarrett-Réalt na Mara want the grading for both codes to be done before April 1 to facilitate earlier starts and finishes.
This comes after their footballers won the Gorey District Roinn 1 title on September 17, but then had to wait until next Saturday for Enniscorthy District to finish in order to play their county semi-final.
HWH-Bunclody want the All-County Leagues to revert back to the 2015 system, with the top two teams in each division to contest the final and no semi-finals played.
And Naomh Eanna are arguing that because clubs play league games without county players, promotion and relegation should be abolished and instead league status in any given year should be reflected by a club’s championship status.
Meanwhile, Sarsfields have also tabled a motion, but it will require the indulgence of delegates for it to be debated as it was received just under 80 minutes after the closing time last Monday.
It proposes that all twelve teams be included in the Senior, Intermediate and Intermediate ‘A’ leagues to ensure more games, and advocates splitting the season into three distinct parts. It also suggests that the top two teams in the league be exempt from championship relegation to provide an incentive for the league that is missing at present.