‘Restructuring the Championship will allow us to save money and cop on’
IN THE eye of the greatest storm in its modern history, an opportunity for change might just present itself for the GAA.
News this week the start of this summer’s All-Ireland Championships will be delayed hardly raised a murmur given the inevitability that Galway’s trip across the Atlantic to lift the Connacht SFC curtain on May 3 was never going to happen.
It was the admission that any rescheduling of the fixture would be considered in the ‘redrawing’ of the fixture calendar – an issue that was central in Croke Park’s conference call with counties on Friday – that has hardened the belief that this year’s Championship will revert to its provincial knock-out roots
Should that happen it will be welcomed by the provincial councils, given the status of their championships will be upgraded, not least by Connacht where their own competition is a crucial source of income.
Last year’s gate receipts – Mayo’s early exit and the RoscommonGalway final played in wretched conditions were contributory factors – disappointed at €792,000 but still came close to 30 per cent of the council’s overall income of €3million.
With 30 employees on their books – albeit not all directly – and a state-of-the-art centre of excellence in Bekan to be maintained – income matters.
But council secretary John Prenty also suggests that a condensed intercounty season will not be without some blessings.
‘The big issue in the inter-county Championship is the cost of preparing teams and now there are fields out there where there is no one on, it allows counties the chance to look back at what they are saving.
‘Galway and Mayo last year spent over €3million between the two of them over 35 weeks. That represents a huge burden on voluntary people to raise those funds. If we have an outstanding Championship this year with a lot less training we just might cop on a bit.’
Indeed, the money spent by Connacht’s three big counties – including Roscommon – last year came to a whopping €4.3million. A global pandemic has put a ceiling on the costs of running inter-county teams which, more than anything, shows how it had run out of control.
While there will be a huge fiscal cost to the GAA centrally in running a condensed Championship, the impact should be diluted to some degree by lower costs incurred at county level.
It will hardly balance the books, but it might just point to a way forward.
Of course, the GAA, like everyone else, remains in the dark as to when action can resume or, indeed, restrictions will be lifted.
A phased relaxing of restrictions would not necessarily allow for mass gatherings, but a Championship played behind closed doors, even though it would allow the GAA to meet some of its media rights commitments, would enjoy little support at provincial level.
‘A knock-out Championship is an option but it depends when and if we get out of this. It is just too early to speculate on what kind of Championship we will have yet,’ predicts Prenty (left).
‘It could also point the way for how counties run their championships.
‘I was on the fixture review committee and when you look at the 32 counties you had about 70 different formats.
‘Obviously we want to play as many games for young people as we can but we will just have to cut our cloth to the measure we have.
‘What I would say is that if and when we have a Championship, it will be the best year ever.
‘I am looking at people who are cooped up in their houses and who can’t get out the door and they are so desperate to get out in the fresh air and be entertained.
‘I met an old man the other morning and he asked “what am I going to do, we have no games”.
‘I felt for him because this was a man who doesn’t go to games any more, but the GAA is still a big part of his life.
‘He listens to the games on the radio, watches them on the TV and buys papers to read about it afterwards. It is a big thing for people’s state of mind, for their mental health.
‘When you look at it like that, we want to have our games back, but only when it is safe.’