Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHANGE IS COMING
Ryan and Mccarthy give late to radical Proposal B plan
A SEISMIC week for the GAA continues – as momentum behind Proposal B grew with the backing of the two highest ranking officials in the association.
Director general Tom Ryan and president Larry Mccarthy required a little prodding yesterday in the Croke Park Museum but both came out in favour of the radical plan.
The message from Ryan was loud and clear – change is coming. And even if Proposal B fails at Saturday’s Special Congress in Croke Park, the GAA “won’t lose heart”.
The plan would see the League flipping to the summer with the All-ireland Championship and provincials moving to a spring slot.
Proposal B has the backing of the GPA and has gained serious momentum in recent days with counties including Meath, Cork, Tipperary, Clare, Longford, Down, Louth and Kildare coming out in favour of it.
The motion is still expected to be defeated at the weekend but the public backing of Mccarthy and Ryan has given it a real chance of gaining the 60% vote required to come in for next season. An alternative proposal, which would see counties move provinces to make up four equal groups of eight for next year’s Championship will be considered first on Saturday morning at Congress.
If this fails, delegates will then vote on Proposal B.
If this is shot down, the 2022 Football Championship will revert to the old qualifier systems with no Super 8s – the latter brought in for a three-year trial in 2018.
There was a sense yesterday that something was afoot when the GAA called a press conference.
Generally, a motions briefing is held before any Congress but it is not a press conference with views expressed on particular motions. This was different.
There was some serious straight talking from Mccarthy on the Super 8s: “We didn’t like them and we essentially got rid of them.”
And when he was asked about a possible deferment to 2023 if Proposal B got the green light at the weekend, with the split season also due to debut next year, Mccarthy was emphatic in his response.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think there’s a
momentum for change. I think, ‘Why not go and do it all in one?’. Next year is going to be historic anyway. We’re in change mode. Perhaps why not change it to the extent that it’s proposed?
“I wouldn’t have any issue with it. I think we can mobilise the Championship, mobilise the Tailteann Cup and mobilise the system as proposed. I wouldn’t see any problems with doing it.”
Ryan pointed out that the association was able to implement change quickly, with the League and Championship redrawn at short notice in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-induced time constraints.
“We mobilised Championships that were quite different from what had gone before and what we had envisaged that we’d be doing,” said Ryan. “We did it in probably worse and more trying circumstances. Of course it’s a challenge but I don’t have a doubt that we can do either of the three options that are there.”
Ryan brushed off the issue of finance, pointing out that 80% of GAA income arises out of the All-ireland finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals, as well as provincial finals, which all remain intact. “Under whatever shape next year takes, those games will still be there and they’ll still be the bedrock of the whole thing financially,” said Ryan. “So really, the games at the outset of the Championship, don’t have a significant say in how we fare financially.” He continued: “It is not a financial decision. It wouldn’t be anyway. The first thing to look at is what shape you want the Championship to look like next year. Whatever hand is dealt with by Congress, we will make the best of that as we can.
“It is not a financial decision and we weren’t putting financial numbers to the forefront of the decision-making process. If it was a case that one was hugely more beneficial than the other then we would have a responsibility to do that but given the margin of difference between them, it is not something we are intent on making an issue of.” Both Mccarthy and Ryan allayed concerns there could be issues with long-term National League sponsors Allianz (inset) who are in the middle of a five-year deal. Mccarthy said: “Your sponsors shouldn’t be dictating what your structure is. We’ll certainly have conversations with them depending on what happens on Saturday and they are obviously aware of the proposals.”
Ryan added: “We pick the best football structure and then we try and do the best we can around those parameters. We do our best to keep our sponsors and commercial partners appraised of what is in our thinking.”
If Proposals A and B are beaten on Saturday, Ryan says it is far from the end when it comes to change in the football season.
“People would like to see a change and I think all it will mean is that the particular change that’s on the menu on Saturday is not what people like,” he said.
“That’s fine, if that’s the way that goes, but the responsibility still doesn’t go away with that.
“We won’t lose heart if that’s the way it goes. We will come back again with some other ideas. Given all the change we’ve had to go through over the last two years for all manner of other reasons, I don’t think we need to be afraid of change either. We are well able to do that.”