It goes to show you can’t always believe what you read online.
The buildup to the GAA’s Special Congress at Croke Park today had many corners believing there would be sweeping changes to next year’s All-Ireland Football Championships, alas, it’s not to be.
“Proposal B” would have seen a league-based championship introduced, meaning more games, more time, more of a level playing field. And while county after county appeared online at least to support the changes, when it came to voting today, it failed to secured the required percentage of votes to pass.
60 percent of the votes was the target for Motion 19 (Proposal B) to pass, and while there were 85 votes for, there were 83 votes against resulting in a 50.6 to 49.6 percent split, and ultimately failing.
Former GAA Presidents Sean Kelly and John Horan has previously spoken in favour of the motion while earlier this week saw current GAA president Larry McCarthy and GAA director general Tom Ryan throw their weight behind Proposal B.
Motion 18 (Proposal A), which would have brought in four provincial groups with eight teams, was rejected by 90 percent of delegates.
The outcome today means the Championship will revert back to the status quo next season, without the Super 8s and with the introduction of the Tailteann Cup. As such, there will be two rounds of qualifiers instead of four.
