Poll reveals strong support among Cork club players for championships format

Eighty-nine percent of players are in favour of the current Cork county championships format, a poll has found.

Last week, a survey was circulated to all of the clubs within the county, dealing with the county leagues and championships from premier senior to premier junior.

A total of 800 players across the top five championship tiers in football and hurling responded – while the survey was confidential, names and clubs were provided. Of the 800 players, 204 were dual players, 304 were football-only and 292 were hurling-only.

The approval figure for the current split season, whereby inter-county leagues and championships run from January-July and the club championships begin after that, was 86.5 percent, with 13.5 percent not in favour of that format.

The split was slightly larger for the county championships format, 89-11. The current system was put in place at the end of 2019, introducing a group-stage at senior and intermediate levels, guaranteeing every club at least three games.

Of those who replied expressing dissatisfaction, the reasons given included the length of the season, its compressed nature and the pressure put on dual clubs who had to play six games across eight weekends.

Being assured of three championship matches was something that brought a positive viewpoint for 96 percent of the players surveyed – the four percent with a negative sentiment highlighted the close proximity of games and the impact of injuries, ruling players out for the entirety of a campaign.

There was also general backing for the county leagues, with 87 percent of respondents declaring themselves satisfied or neutral and 13 percent dissatisfied. Reasons for the latter viewpoint comprised the whole spectrum – dual clubs were having to play nine games in each code in a relatively short space of time, though players from single-code clubs felt that they did not have enough games.

Players who completed the survey were also given the opportunity to provide further comments or suggestions. The participation of divisions and colleges in the Premier SHC competitions was a source of some discussion, while the possibility of clubs playing championship matches at home also featured among the observations.

Speaking to The Echo last year, Cork All-Ireland-winning footballer Fintan Goold expressed the view that affording teams home games would be an idea worth trying.

“I think it would be cool to try out what they do in Kerry – one game at home, one away and one neutral,” he said.
“We were only saying at home that none of us had played a championship game at the Castle Grounds and it’d be great to play one of your matches in front of a home support.

“I think it would be a good thing and it would drum up more interest, especially in a town like Macroom. When something is on in the area, you can market it a bit better and target kids and things like that.

“It would be a good way to advance the system. Maybe some clubs mightn’t be capable of hosting but then you think about it and most places do have good facilities now.

“I definitely think it’s something worth exploring.”

However, in a separate interview with this paper, Cork County Board secretary/CEO Kevin O’Donovan was more circumspect about the prospect.

“I’d never rule it out,” he said, “but there’d be a major concern among our officers about the risks associated with it.

“It seems brilliant, but we have targets to meet and budgets.

“Maybe you’d say it’s worth the drop in gate receipts – maybe the gates would go up, maybe more people would say, ‘I’m definitely going down to Castlehaven and Ross in Castlehaven, it’ll be a better game than in a neutral venue.’

“We need to sleep on that one. It excites me but it’s not a knee-jerk one, it’s one for a committee and to get out the abacus.”