GAA Special Congress convened at Croke Park today and both Proposal A and Proposal B failed to receive the required 60% majority vote required.
Proposal A was defeated by a 90% majority. Proposal B - which backed by the players and the GAA president and director general - fell short by 10% of the required vote. GPA head Tom Parsons, Clare manager Colm Collins, Offaly GAA boss Michael Duignean and former GAA president John Horan all spoke in favour of the motion, but their words could not convince enough delegates at GAA Special Congress that Proposal B was the change the GAA needed. It had a 50.6% majority.
Representatives from Fermanagh, Antrim, Donegal and Mayo all spoke against Proposal B.
"To me it's a really strong motion and something we should consider," said Kerry's Tim Murphy, before calling for the vote to be deferred.
GAA Special Congress vote: what does it mean for 2022
The vote at GAA Special Congress today means that the CCCC will recommend that the GAA reverts to the current - which is to say pre-Covid - provincial championship structures. The 2022 provincial championships will be followed by two rounds of qualifiers and knockout quarterfinals.
It also means the GAA's B Championship, the Tailteann Cup, will be fixed for the summer of 2022. In case you've forgotten, the Tailteann Cup will involve all Division Three and Four sides who fail to reach their provincial finals
"The make-up of the Tailteann Cup will still be about finding winners and establishing who is the best – but will do so with a smaller field of teams on a more equal footing," GAA president John Horan said when the competition was originally announced.
The Super 8s are dead.
GAA Special Congress feels like only the beginning of the serious debate around reform of the GAA Championship structures - and how democracy works in the GAA. Congress will be back again in February and the issue could be revisited there.
Interestingly virtually none of the speakers against Option B are defending the current system. The best they can offer is to 'kick the can down the road.' This is what has hindered the GAA for decades. A reluctance to make hard decisions at the right time #specialcongress
— Sean McGoldrick (@SeanMcGoldrick1) October 23, 2021
