THE structures of Derry club football are a never-ending source of fierce internal debate.
The real nub of the current problems that came to a head in Owenbeg on Tuesday night can be traced back to October 2022, when four relegation playoffs were due to take place as part of plans to cut the senior football championship from 16 to 12.
With a number of clubs engaged in an appeal process over the decision to seed the draw for the playoffs, Derry CCC cancelled the games.
Having failed to notify clubs in advance that the playoff draw would be seeded, the county board was aware that they would almost certainly lose in any protracted boardroom battle.
Six weeks later, CCC proposed to cut the senior league and championship both to 14 teams, with Banagher and Claudy dropping down to intermediate, while Craigbane were promoted out of junior.
Those proposals were accepted and at a meeting last March, clubs signed up to a system whereby two more teams would be relegated from the senior championship via playoffs.
It was also written in that there would only be promotion from intermediate and junior via the leagues, and that the championship winners for 2023 would not be promoted.
The league regulations stated that there would be a playoff between the two bottom teams in Division One.
Promotion and relegation had been removed from the leagues during Covid and were only properly reinstated last year.
Clubs played the entire league campaign minus their county men.
Ballinascreen found themselves cut badly adrift at the bottom.
Lavey ended up finishing second bottom, albeit comfortably ahead of ‘Screen on points.
The problems started ahead of the last round of regulation fixtures. Lavey flagged up and contested that the final round of games should all have been played at the same time on the same day, given what was riding on them.
The games all ended up spread out across the week amid various requests from clubs.
When Coleraine lost to Glen, it gifted Bellaghy the league title.
That rendered Bellaghy’s final game meaningless. They faced relegation-threatened Swatragh, who went on to win the game the same night as Lavey’s final game was played.
Three days later, Dungiven won their last game against Kilrea to ensure their own safety, placing Lavey in the playoff against Ballinascreen.
Lavey lost the playoff in a penalty shootout, condemning them to Division Two of the league while still retaining senior championship status.
Championship relegation playoffs, having been cancelled in 2022, did go ahead last year.
Ballinderry and Eoghan Rua, Coleraine were beaten by Swatragh and Loup respectively.
For the two defeated sides, that meant demotion to the intermediate championship for 2024.
Glenullin had won back-to-back intermediate championships but still faced another year at the grade.League winners Castledawson were promoted to Division One but nobody went up from the intermediate championship as was agreed last spring.
Weeks before Derry’s annual convention, Kieran McKeever had resigned as vice-chairman of the county board over how its affairs were being run.
Glenullin and Lavey had both put motions to the AGM for a return to a 16-team top flight.
Those were referred back to CCC but at a meeting with clubs in January, the decision was taken by the floor to press ahead with the planned move to a 12-team SFC while retaining a 14-team senior league.
It still wasn’t over. The affected clubs managed to talk the county board back to the table, arguing that January’s meeting had been a vote on whether to go to 12 teams or not, without offering clubs an actual alternative plan.
Having already received their league dates and overall fixture calendar, clubs were last week informed of a planned discussion at the monthly county board meeting where they would have the opportunity to vote on three proposals that had been put forward.
The three options clubs expected to vote on in Owenbeg on Tuesday night were for things to remain as planned; to do so for this year and then go to a 16-team senior league and championship for 2025; or to go straight to 16-team competitions in 2024.
But with Derry county board acting upon advice from Croke Park, delegates were informed that there would first have to be a vote taken on rescinding the decision made at the meeting in January.
A super-majority of 60 per cent would be required to overturn the decision made two months previous.
That became an issue for clubs when the executive committee exercised their right to cast votes.
The vote was held by secret ballot and returned a result of 25-21 against rescinding January’s decision.
The executive committee’s quota of 13 votes represented more than a quarter of the ballots.
Presuming that the executive all voted against rescinding it, the club vote would have been 21-12, which would have marginally cleared the 60 per cent threshold to allow for discussion on the new proposals.
Delegates from at least six clubs left the meeting when the results of the vote were called out.
It was anticipated that a return to a 16-team league would also have had support from worried junior clubs, who would have seen their own championship cut from 13 teams back to 9 had the senior grade returned to 16.
The gap in standards between the top and bottom of junior football has already been visibly damaging for a few years.
There was clearly, however, a core of support for a 12-team structure in the middleground.
That the executive decided to cast votes when they represented 28 per cent of the voting strength in a debate where only 40 per cent in total was required to halt the discussion has left ill-feeling among a number of clubs.
Pre-season competitions are due to begin this Friday night and the leagues are just four weeks away.
If this one has legs to run, they better run fast.