Avondhu footballers withdraw from championship: 'Players were telling us they've too much on'

Avondhu will not field a team in this year's McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier SFC Divisional/Colleges section.

The Avondhu GAA Board informed the Cork County Board on Wednesday night following their meeting in Mallow that their football team did not have enough players to compete.

After two withdrawals last year from the competition in Beara and Imokilly, Avondhu are the first this season to pull out. But they are expected to be the only ones.

After not fielding a team in the last two campaigns, Beara plan to field this year, at this moment in time.

The McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier SFC Divisional/Colleges section gets underway next Thursday. Avondhu were due to play their opening game of the championship against Carbery in Ballincollig at 7.30pm. The other game, which is still going ahead, is the meeting of Beara and Duhallow in Ballingeary at 7.30pm.

Last year’s winners of this particular competition, Muskerry, and college side UCC, await in the seeded section.

Avondhu GAA chairman John Courtney states that the board did everything in their power to get a team out on the pitch this season.

“We were in trouble in the last campaign, but we survived.

“We made a big effort for this year going back as far as last Christmas. We brought in a fella from Kerry to coach the team and got into contact with players and put everything we could in front of them. We just couldn’t get a buy-in from the players. 

The coach, who I won’t mention his name, is well-regarded, he walked two weeks ago as he wasn’t getting a buy-in from the players.

“We couldn’t have done any more to be honest. We had 12 players that had committed. We made one last-ditch effort on Tuesday. The players were telling us that they have too much on. They have no break especially dual players who are out 18 weekends on the trot in the league. There’s no chance to recover.

“The divisional team is a challenge anyway, split season or not."

RETHINK

Courtney says a broader discussion is to take place with regards the future of the Avondhu football team.

“We met with the Cork County Board on a few occasions and in fairness, they were very good. I don’t know how you can fit the divisional games in with the compacted calendar. We aren’t the first team to go. We have always competed and are very disappointed. We are going to sit down and have a rethink. It’s just very tough to see where we can go from here.

The success of the Cork hurling team has hurling in the county on a high. 

"Avondhu hurlers will enter a team in the championship and they have played three challenge games so far this year. We would be dependent on some dual players in Avondhu. They have leaned towards the hurling.”