By Dónal Moriarty
The annual discussion about the format of the football championship has begun.
Results such as Dublin’s hammering of Louth and Galway’s easy dismissal of Roscommon have led to the familiar suggestions of a tiered championship or a Champions League-style format being proposed in some quarters.
Watch Kevin McStay and Colm O'Rourke discuss the issue of how the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship should be structured
As Kerry and Cork prepare to face each other, GAA fans are wondering if it really matters who wins, with both teams comfortable in the knowledge that they should still be involved in the championship, via front door or back, come the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Those who propose a tiered championship as a solution should bear in mind that it has been tried before.
The Tommy Murphy Cup experiment was abandoned after 2008 when the counties involved protested at their exclusion from the football championship proper.
Every county football team would argue that, unlike hurling, they have a chance to beat virtually any other team in the championship on their day.
Those in favour of a Champions League-style format do not take the club player into account when proposing this system.
Too many counties virtually cease all club activity while the county team is in championship action, and the introduction of a league-style system at inter-county level would mean no games for the vast majority of players around the country during the early summer months.
So what can be done to reduce the amount of “meaningless” games and increase interest in the early stages of the football championship?
Here’s a thought. Put all 32 counties (New York do not participate in the qualifiers) into the hat for an open draw for the first round of the qualifiers.
Play these games on the first weekend in May, with the second round taking place the following weekend. After this the provincial championships can start as normal.
Playing the third round of qualifiers in late June or early July would leave four teams standing in that side of the Championship, and they could meet the provincial champions in the All-Ireland quarter-finals as is currently the case.
This would have a number of benefits over the current system. It puts the focus back on provincial championships as only eight teams would still be involved in the qualifiers once they start.
It also gives the GAA the opportunity to kick the championships off with a weekend extravaganza of games all over the country, rather than the soft approach that the current start to the championship goes through.
It would also mean that almost every game from the third weekend in May would involve at least one team fighting for their championship lives, thereby increasing the public interest and putting pressure on teams to perform.
It would also put an end to the teams such as Kerry and Cork being able to tailor their preparations with a focus on the latter stages of the championship.
Imagine if Kerry drew Derry and Cork drew Dublin in the first round of the qualifiers as per our mock draw (below) conducted in the RTÉ Sport office yesterday.
It would put a whole new perspective on any meeting of the counties in the Munster Championship as they cannot be sure of the safety net of the backdoor system being in place if they lose their provincial tussle.
Indeed, going by our draw, only one team from Dublin, Cork, Tyrone and Down would have the safety net of the qualifier system when they start their provincial championship. Similarly with Kerry, Derry, Donegal and Waterford.
There would have to be a few stipulations attached to a system such as qualifier games being played to a finish, without the chance of a replay.
There would also have to be a rule for teams that end up in the final four of the qualifiers and win their provincial championship. Perhaps a bye to the All-Ireland semi-final or, intriguingly, the option of passing the bye on to another team in the Championship.
This system is not perfect. No system is - as becomes evident every year. You will still, for instance, have lopsided results, and there is a chance that the increased competitiveness of the football championship will overshadow the early stages of the hurling competition.
It will, however, put added spice into matches that currently fail to inspire fans, viewers and pundits with minimal change to current structures and, county boards allowing, less impact on the club player.
MOCK DRAW ROUND 1
Donegal v Waterford
Limerick v Cavan
Wexford v Longford
Armagh v Mayo
Offaly v Leitrim
Tipperary v Meath
Tyrone v Down
London v Wicklow
Sligo v Kildare
Dublin v Cork
Kerry v Derry
Fermanagh v Laois
Carlow v Westmeath
Louth v Antrim
Clare v Galway
Roscommon v Monaghan
MOCK DRAW ROUND 2
London/Wicklow v Sligo/Kildare
Tipperary/Meath v Armagh/Mayo
Roscommon/Monaghan v Offaly/Leitrim
Donegal/Waterford v Kerry/Derry
Tyrone/Down v Dublin/Cork
Wexford/Longford v Clare/Galway
Louth/Antrim v Carlow/Westmeath
Fermanagh/Laois v Limerick/Cavan
