One-quarter of counties did not start club championships until August

MORE than 50pc counties didn’t start their senior club football championships before the end of June last year, while eight had no games played by the end of July.

It has also emerged that there are several variations in formats around the country, with football having eight different systems, two more than hurling.

The findings are contained in a report by the Central Fixtures Analysts Committee (CFAC), who are trying to streamline club programmes in response to growing frustration among players.

The committee found that while various changes to the inter-county scene had, on average, made four extra weekends available for club activity by comparison with 2015, it was important to make further progress over coming seasons.

Completing the All-Ireland club finals in January is CFAC’s headline proposal, a move which would shorten the training schedules, especially for senior clubs who play semi-finals in February and finals on St Patrick’s Day.

CFAC are recommending that the void left by the club finals be filled with “appropriate games”.

Activity

Leaving April free of inter-county activity, which was regarded as a major plank in the GAA’s attempt to provide more room for club activity, met with limited success last year.

Only 11 senior football and nine hurling championships were launched in April, while 17 had still to begin their football campaigns by June 30.

Club league action did take place in April but it’s not regarded as very important by many players, according to a CFAC survey.

“A significant challenge for most counties is that the club league competitions are not seen as attractive enough.

“Eight counties rated the level of importance that clubs give to league competition between 0-5, with 0 having zero importance,” notes the report.

CFAC says that while it’s not ideal to have so many formats used in county championships, imposing a countrywide format would not work due to the different requirements in counties, especially where both codes are strong.

The committee also points out that player response to the consultation process regarding fixture planning was poor.

“In 2018, 23 counties held forums while three counties circulated online surveys.

“It was noted that the attendance of players at these forums was low, despite being specifically invited in most instances,” the report states.