REFORM PUTS MINDS AT EASE
THE GPA has described figures presented by the GAA on football Championship reform as “surprisingly conservative”.
However, the players’ body says it is “delighted” that clarification around revenues for the various Special Congress motions has been provided, despite the fact that it appears to pour cold water on the playerbacked ‘proposal B’, which would see the League structure flipped and adapted for the Championship. GAA financial director Ger Mulryan addressed county treasurers on Thursday night and said that of the three proposals on the table, it would bring in the least revenue at €18.8 million annually. It comes on the back of Conor O’Donoghue of the Calendar Review Taskforce, which framed the proposals, saying that proposal B would bring in an extra €10m per annum. Mulryan claimed that some of O’Donoghue’s figures had been overcooked.
Comparison
Proposal A, which would see the provincial structure remain central to the Championship but with counties moving to different provinces, would generate €19.3m, according to Mulryan, while reverting to the pre-2018 qualifier system would top the lot at €19.6m.
The GAA’s top brass has been notably silent on the Special Congress motions and Mulryan’s intervention has been seen as the strongest indication yet that Croke Park does not support radical change to the football Championship structure.
Indeed, for many, it sounds the death knell for proposal B.
However, the GPA has put a different slant on Mulryan’s report, pointing to the fact that, in terms of revenue, there is less than €1m between the three options that are on the table ahead of tomorrow week’s vote.
A statement read: “The Gaelic Players’ Association are delighted that the GAA has confirmed that there will be no meaningful financial impact should proposal B be backed at Special Congress, with only a 4.1 per cent difference between any eventuality using the GAA’s surprisingly conservative attendance figures.
“We’re happy to see it clarified as it should put delegates’ minds at ease.”