Lack of competition is killing attendances

THE perception in advance of the revamped football Championship was that the GAA came up with the idea of the Super 8s simply to increase cashflow through the turnstiles. Well, that was well and truly shattered by the attendance figures revealed in their annual accounts for 2018. No matter how they painted it, this was an alarming drop in attendances and the fall-off cannot be blamed on any increase in admission price, as they only came into effect a couple of weeks ago. I feel the dwindling interest is down to a couple of things. The lopsided nature of the games, even in the Super 8s where matches like Dublin v Roscommon were just dead rubber, and the more significant reason is Dublin’s dominance. Dublin have mobilised a massive support base in the past few years, but even that is falling away. Even allowing for the Six Nations match last Saturday, that only 15,000 bothered to turn up for Dublin’s League game against Galway was an utter disgrace. When Dublin are away it’s different. There was a big crowd that followed them up to Clones and I expect that Austin Stack Park in Tralee will be sold out tonight. That is because they will expect a close game. The primary attraction of any sport is its competitiveness and Dublin’s dominance has eroded that. They have turned the Leinster football Championship into a farce, and it was even evident in the Super 8s as they brushed Roscommon aside. Why would people keep paying into games if the outcome is not in doubt? Therein lies the problem for the GAA and I don’t know how Croke Park are going to find a solution to that.