Praic Duffy, Ard Stirthir of the GAA, released his Annual Report for 2016 in Croke Park on Tuesday morning.
Click here to read the full report.
The Annual Report is the Ard Stirthir's main opportunity to give a public review of the Association's activities and to discuss prevailing issues.
In this year's report, Praic Duffy reflects on a number of areas, including:
-The All Ireland Hurling and Gaelic Football Championships
-Video Review of Decisions
-Club Players Association
-Gaelic Players Association
-The National Sports Campus
-Media Rights
-Gambling and Sport
-Impact of Rural Decline
-World Games 2016
-Stadium Devlopment
-Strategic Plan
-Croke Park Stadium Overview
In his conclusion to the annual report the Ard Stirthir stresses the value and importance of providing club players with an adequate and fair fixtures schedule.
He writes: "Whatever the outcome of Congresss deliberations on the central questions of the proposed new format for the All Ireland football championship, on the limiting of replays and on the tightening of the fixtures calendar, individual counties will still be faced with the task of addressing the issues faced by clubs, namely that players of all ages and abilities must be catered for, that club players must be offered an adequate number of fairly scheduled, meaningful matches, and that inter-county players have a strong desire to play for their clubs a factor that must be borne in mind by inter-county team managers.
"There is a core truth about the GAA that cannot be emphasised enough the Association exists and thrives because of our clubs. It continues, therefore, to be a matter of crucial importance that the prosperity of our clubs be foremost in our minds in our decision-making. Counties have different structures in place and have different practices that have evolved over the years with regard to club fixtures scheduling, but, whatever the individual nature of the challenge facing counties, the common goal of protecting and fostering the vibrancy of our clubs must act as our guiding principle."
The 2016 GAA Annual Congress took place at Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa and Golf Resort in Carlow.
The Ard Stirthir goes into considerable detail on a number of key issues, as follows:
FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
"As Congress 2016 did not resolve the issue of the structure of the All Ireland senior football championship, I prepared a discussion paper for An Coiste Bainistochta and, with its approval, then circulated its report with the aim of encouraging Congress 2017 to address some of the deficiencies in the championship structure, while recognising the need to meet the demand from our club players for a fairer schedule of games.
"The background to the proposal that will go before Congress, outlined in these documents, is well known at this stage. The current structure of provincial championships and All-Ireland qualifiers, in operation since 2001, has obvious drawbacks, most obviously an unhealthy predictability about the outcome in two of the provincial championships: Dublin has won eleven of the last twelve Leinster titles, while either Kerry or Cork has won every Munster senior championship in the past 80 years with the exception of Clares win in 1992.
"The qualifier system, too, seems to have lost some of its appeal, with a decline in attendances that shows little signs of being reversed. Too often it is said that our football championship does not really begin until August."
VIDEO REVIEW OF DECISIONS
"Professional sports such as rugby, basketball, baseball and American football have all adopted the video-review model, yet it is hugely frustrating for the spectator or viewer to wait through the time taken to reach a decision. It should also be noted that the use of video review in professional sport has been expanded far beyond its original remit.
"And we can be sure that this would happen in our games, too, if we were to go down the road of reviewing difficult decisions in games. It was interesting to read the recent comments of top rugby referee Nigel Owens, who wants to see fewer decisions referred to the TMO. He expressed the view that rugby should go back to where it was five or six years ago, where it was used only on the goal line. He believes that overuse of the TMO is eroding the authority of the referee and that the focus should be on improving the decision-making of match officials."
CLUB PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
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