Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

07:00 AM-01:00 PM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Football

GPA 'delighted' Proposal B has no meaningful financial impact on GAA

The GPA has responded to Croke Park's financial assessment of the various proposals to restructur...



GPA 'delighted' Proposal B has...
Football

GPA 'delighted' Proposal B has no meaningful financial impact on GAA

The GPA has responded to Croke Park's financial assessment of the various proposals to restructure the Football Championship.

Croke Park Finance Director Ger Mulryan has contacted treasurers of county boards to give the Association's analysis of the revenue each option would generate.

Two proposals are being voted upon at Special Congress on Saturday 23rd October.

The first, Proposal A, would redeploy counties into an equitable numerical provincial structure containing four conferences of eight teams.

Proposal B, which is being backed by the GPA, would see the provincial competitions revert to February and March and a League Championship take centre stage between April and July.

Any proposal requires 60 percent of delegate votes to pass.

If neither proposal passes, the GAA is set to run a Football Championship with provincial competitions and a knockout qualifier structure for the All Ireland series, as was the case before the Super 8's were introduced.

This fallback option would include a secondary Tailteann Cup.

Croke Park assessed that the traditional format would generate €19.6 million in revenue, with Proposal A delivering €19.3 million and the GPA supported Proposal B providing €18.8 million towards the coffers of the Association.

There is a disparity between the GAA's estimates and the document outlined by Conor O'Donoghue of the Fixtures Task Force - who outlined that an extra €10 million could be generated from the extra games in Proposal B.

Nevertheless, the GPA doesn't feel there is a barrier now for delegates to choose option B at the Special Congress.

In a statement, the GPA said:

"The Gaelic Players Association are delighted that the GAA has confirmed that there will be no meaningful financial impact should Proposal B be backed at Special Congress, with only a 4.1% difference between any eventuality using the GAA's surprisingly conservative attendance figures.

"Given that this has been a concern expressed, we’re happy to see it now clarified as it should put delegates’ minds at ease on this matter.

"The decision can now be made solely on the widely acknowledged need for change, fairness to all counties, and the development of players and counties across the country."

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.