Dublin boss Jim Gavin is stateside in Boston for the All Stars tour and has been answering questions about that eternal problem; the All Ireland fixture calendar. Gavin has called for that old GAA cliche; a Champions League style format for provincial fixtures and the scrapping of the National Football League to facilitate it.
Gavin also used the example of conferences in American football as a way of guaranteeing a greater amount of games for teams while also at the same time, giving the provincial championships a new lease of life.
If we retain the principles where teams do particularly well in their province (benefit in the All-Ireland series) you could have four- or six-team groups that could bring you into the summer,
“I think we should hold on to those competitions. They’re the only pure knock-out competition we have left at senior level and there’s great enjoyment in that and a lot on the line.
“Each time we play a Leinster match we know we have to win to move on because there’s no back door in your province and I think it’s a great competition. Possibly one model is to move that forward in the year and to play those provincial competitions earlier in the year and to move to your group format for the championship series.”
If the GAA ever did go forward with a Champions League format, they need to go the full hog. A complicated co-efficient system, a glitzy draw ceremony and most importantly of all; little O'Neill's balls that hold the team names.
H/T: Irish Times
Image: SPORTSFILE
