Four-point goal, offside and ‘countdown clock’- radical new football proposals unveiled

A four-point goal and two-point scoring zone are just two of the radical proposals being considered by Jim Gavin and the Football Review Committee.

Also on the table is the introduction of a type of offside rule whereby teams would have to keep a minimum of three players inside the opposition 65-metre line, a restriction on the handpass back to the goalkeeper, the introduction of a countdown clock, applying the advanced mark rule inside the 20-metre line only and an update to the black card rules covering cynical play.

Formed by GAA president Jarlath Burns, the group, chaired by the man who guided Dublin to a historic five-in-a-row of All-Ireland senior football titles, is looking at an extensive suite of options aimed at making Gaelic games ‘the most enjoyable amateur games in the world to play and watch’.

To that end, a new scoring arc to reward long-range kicking in Gaelic football is going to be trialled at a series of games in the coming weeks involving inter-county teams knocked out of the Championship, along with various other modifications.

The intention is that it would put an added premium on a core skill such as kicking, which has been threatened by the focus on a low-risk, possession style of football by teams at club and county level.

These proposals have flowed from a public survey that drew over five and a half thousand responses with a further 4,000- plus coming in other comments and letters and emails. It’s those findings which have shaped a new vision for the game.

The FRC will trial them with a view to bringing the best options forward to be voted on at a Special Congress in December so they will be in place in 2025 for proper trialling in the National League and Championship.