CCCC Considering Intriguing Major Change To All-Ireland SFC Format | Balls.ie

Few things in sport are tinkered with as much as the format of the All-Ireland senior football championship – and yet more drastic changes may not be too far away.

After the failure of the two-year Super 8s experiment in the 2010s, the GAA has trialled a second stab at round-robin games the past two years immediately after the provincial championships.

The format has not proved popular. With the group winners progressing directly to the quarter-finals and the second- and third-placed teams playing off for the remaining spots, 24 games are played in the round-robin phase to eliminate just four teams, leading to a lack of jeopardy.

The GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee are now examining alternative proposals for the future of the All-Ireland SFC, with an acceptance that the current round-robin system has been lacking in jeopardy.

Six proposals have been put forward to the CCCC to replace the current format, with one standout thus far akin to the format used in the Kerry championship at the turn of the century.

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GAA: Proposal to see All-Ireland SFC format return to knockout with major change

30 July 2023; Brian Fenton of Dublin consoles David Clifford of Kerry after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

The CCCC have considered six new proposals for the All-Ireland SFC format, with two endorsed by the committee. The reported frontrunner would be largely similar to a system used in county championships in Kerry and Laois in the past.

The bones of the proposed new structure are below.

• The round-robin phase would be eradicated
• The 8 provincial finalists, previous year’s Tailteann Cup winners, and the 7 highest finishers in the Allianz Leagues would qualify for the last 16 (Round 1)
• The 8 winners of the last 16 would progress to Round 2A, where they would play off for four places in the All-Ireland quarter-finals
• The 8 losers of Round 1 would play off in four Round 2B matches, with the four losers eliminated from the All-Ireland football championship
• The 4 winners of Round 2B would then play the 4 losers of Round 2A for the final four places in the All-Ireland quarter-finals

On paper, this proposal would certainly appear to hit the sweet spot between affording teams a “second chance” at progressing in the championship while also creating tension and jeopardy at an early stage in the championship.

There would also be a reward on offer for the Round 2A winners, with a rest period before the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Another contender would see the provincial champions straight through to the quarter-finals, while the remaining 12 teams from the “Super 16” (for want of a better phrase) play off four groups of three for the remaining spots.

The reason for the CCCC’s apparent preference towards the first option was explained by the committee in a document circulated this week.

It is a proposal the CCCC are recommending that counties give serious consideration as it has the potential to ease congestion in the calendar and create a greater ‘level’ of jeopardy than the current structure with its four-team round-robin groups.

One can never expect to go long without the format of the All-Ireland football championship being turned on its head, and it appears likely that will happen once again in the coming years.

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