Call to reduce number of senior football clubs

THE number of teams in the Galway senior football championship should be reduced from 20 to 16 over a four year period, according to the secretary of the County Football Committee.

Seamus O’Grady, in his annual report that he will present to the Football AGM tonight (Thursday) in Loughgeorge (7.45), says that reducing the number of teams would result in a more competitive championship.

He suggests that the reduction in the championship could be achieved over a four year period by annually promoting one team and relegating two from the senior ranks.

“The knock-on effect of this is that both our intermediate and junior championships would also be much more competitive. At present, there is a huge difference in the standard of the teams participating in all three grades,” says O’Grady.

He proposes that the intermediate and junior grades should also be 16 team units with a new Junior 1 grade, also of 16 teams. “I think we should review the situation that exists at present, where a team has to just win one championship game to retain their senior status for the following year.”

He also calls for a ‘look’ the participation of NUI Galway in the county senior football championship and ask the question ‘as to what purpose it serves’. “They [NUIG] have their own Higher Education leagues at this time of year; in January they participate in the FBD league; and then they have the Sigerson at the end of February.

“Then five or six months later (August in 2013) – when most of the students have long departed for their holidays – they are recalled to play in the Galway championship, many of them already having played club championship in their own counties on the same day,” says O’Grady. Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune.