Change for worse avoided - McAvoy
Ulster CoUnCil Ceo Brian McAvoy was happy to see Proposal B defeated and the provincial Championships remain as the centrepiece of the summer rather than being played as standalone competitions in the spring.
He has been a public and vocal opponent of Motion 19 which called for a league-style All-ireland Championship and he described it as ‘divisive’ and ‘change for the worse’ after it received the support of just over 50 per cent of delegates to special Congress yesterday – well short of the 60 per cent required.
‘We’ve been saying all along that there is a need for change – but it has to be change for the better, not change for the worse. there was no consensus for this motion. it was divisive. And we’ve seen with the result, 50-50. You have to have consensus for change.
‘no-one even in support of Motion B said it was perfect. they all identified flaws. if
you’re going to change, you have to have a better alternative. Anyone who studied it logically, and took the emotion out of it, it was a retrograde step. this Proposal B offered very little. the people who we were told were going to benefit most, the players, it was going to be to the detriment of the players.
‘if i wear my provincial hat, i think there’s a clear momentum now that there has to be still a link between the provincial Championships and the All-ireland series. i think perhaps there’s a possibility for the leagues to be revamped and a route to the All-ireland through the leagues as well. i think we can be creative, give the players more football, if that’s what they want.’
For McAvoy, linking the provincial Championships to any league-based All-ireland series is the key.
‘i think there is a momentum for change, i think it’s inevitable, but i’d rather just wait a year and get it right rather than put through something that really was divisive and, personally, i don’t think was going to work.
‘if you don’t have that route to the All-ireland series they are totally demeaned and devalued.’