GAA County Boards will this morning begin to review a series of eighteen proposals that have been submitted concerning a review of the GAA All Ireland Football Championship format.
If a motion for change is to go forward to the GAA’s Congress early next year it will need to emerge as one from these and while there is a clear appetite for change things are not so clear as regards what that change should be.
There is a general feeling that the provincial championships should remain with 17 of the proposals, put forward by individual counties but not revealed by ‘owner’ in the circulated material for fear of bias with prejudice.
Another broad agreement is that the qualifier system at present has run its course with only three of the 18 suggesting its retention.
The recent GPA submission has been included in the review and is one which we believe has merit.
It is likely that some discussion around the potential for change in the formats will form part of a two day session which the GAA will hold with its major sponsors next month.
One notable element of watching the GAA over a long period of time is that change happens in order to maintain its high value within Irish society but that it is always considered and often incremental.
There are many stakeholders within the sport, from players to members, administrators at national all the way to club level and a huge emotional investment from all.
That is its strength. It may at times be seen as a weakness but in fact it does provide for a very robust form of due diligence on whatever does emerge.
A measure of the long term nature of the Association is the formation of a committee already to look at what the GAA might look like in 2034 when it will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
When you consider that this years’s All Ireland winning captain Stephen Cluxton will be 53 years old at that time it goes an indication that time is considered in its proper context, not as a race to be run within the organisation.
The ‘Towards 150 Committee’ will include a review of the Vision and Values of the GAA, its identity within a modern Irish society, amateur status, youth dropout, international marketing and more.
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