Football

CPA chief Michéal Briody says clubs must accept realities this year

Kilcoo didn't get the chance to defend their Ulster title in 2020, but CPA boss Michéal Briody feels it's important the GAA honours the provincial and All-Ireland club competitions this year.
Kilcoo didn't get the chance to defend their Ulster title in 2020, but CPA boss Michéal Briody feels it's important the GAA honours the provincial and All-Ireland club competitions this year. Kilcoo didn't get the chance to defend their Ulster title in 2020, but CPA boss Michéal Briody feels it's important the GAA honours the provincial and All-Ireland club competitions this year.

THE split-season will be “the most significant change for the GAA” – but clubs may have accept what they’re given in a testing 2021, believes Club Players’ Association chairman Michéal Briody.

While reports yesterday suggested that plans to decide on the structure of the inter-county championship beyond 2022 will not be discussed until a Special Congress in September, it’s expected that the motion to implement a permanent split season will remain on the agenda later at the Annual Congress this month.

That would see All-Ireland finals brought forward into July and create a defined split between club and inter-county campaigns.

The CPA made such a move its mandate shortly after its inception and were originally told by GAA bosses that the idea was “too far-fetched”, but the success of the move last year as forced by Covid-19 has seen a permanent change become seemingly inevitable.

“We said from the outset that it’s not who’s right, it’s what’s right,” said Briody.

“We certainly think it’s the right way and the only way we can get certainty going forward, for clubs and inter-county.

“Probably the biggest thing of the last year has been the inter-county players seeing the benefit of it. You’ll also see at inter-county and club the benefit of it in finances.

“County boards’ team costs were a lot less last year and equally clubs, because they weren’t running teams for the same number of months. It makes sense on a lot of different levels.

“We didn’t design the Covid pandemic to get it across the line but it seems that it will bring change around an awful lot quicker than we would have envisaged in the last year or two. If that continues at the same pace, we’d be very happy,” said the Meathman, while noting caution in the form of a change of GAA leadership, with Larry McCarthy set to take over from John Horan in a few weeks.

While the GAA continues to wrestle with plans for 2021, having had to push its start date for the Allianz Leagues back until April and the All-Ireland finals into August.

The draws for the championships were confirmed yesterday as having been postponed for at least a number of weeks.

The delays will have a knock-on effect on when club championships can begin but Briody says that the CPA are “understanding that the predicament is not the GAA’s, it’s a pandemic” and that clubs must accept whatever comes their way this year provided permanent change is accepted from next year on.

“It was originally mid-July, now it’s August that they [the GAA] are talking about the club starting. It may very well be September, and you’re into knockout championship at that stage, and invariably no league games with county players.

“It’ll all depend on when various lockdowns and restrictions are lifted. 2021 is a case of hoping we get games at the end of the year. I do believe we will get games.

“I think [clarity on dates] is unrealistic. I can bang the table and ask for the GAA to give certainty, but we don’t have certainty in any walk of life at the minute. It’s unfair for anyone to expect the GAA or any sporting organisation to be ahead of that.

“I think people are very understanding of it. We certainly aren’t getting a backlash from clubs and saying ‘when are they going to start this, we want dates’.

“There hasn’t been a significant voice out there and we, for one, would be very understanding of the predicament. The predicament is not the GAA’s, it’s the pandemic.”

Briody does believe it is crucial that the provincial and All-Ireland club series’ goes ahead, with plans afoot to run the All-Ireland stages post-Christmas and into the new year.

“If that was to happen, it’s something you’d sacrifice in the short term because it shouldn’t impact on the following year,” he said.

“If they have the split season put in on that stage, it’s impinging on an overlap of county players but it’s a small amount and if it’s to overlap again for one more month, I think we can all live with that.”