Renewed call for home fixtures in county championships

Home fixtures in the Cork county championships is something worth trialling on a limited basis, feels Joe Blake.

A former county board PRO, Blake is currently one of the county’s Munster Council delegates. Part of his duties with the provincial body involve dealing with grants to clubs – in the course of that, he saw plenty of facilities worthy of hosting championship matches.

However, at present, they are dependent on favourable draws in order to be suitable as neutral venues. Having seen how things operate in other counties such as Kerry, Blake believes that something similar could be tried in Cork – with each team getting one home match in the group stages before the final-round fixtures would be at neutral sites.

“I went to a lot of the grounds and I suppose it opened my eyes,” he says.

“Obviously I'd be familiar with a lot of the grounds here and there and whatever, but all over the county, I was going to places like Killeagh, Castlelyons, Bride Rovers, Fr O’Neill’s.

“I was going around to different clubs and seeing the work that was being done by the clubs - investing in new pitches and developing the facilities, putting in floodlight and improving.

“I raised the issue at the 2023 convention and it got a bit of an airing. At the time, Castlehaven had a motion about it but were asked to withdraw on the basis that the CCC would have a look at it. I didn't hear anything more about it; I raised it at the last convention and the CCC said they were looking at it.

“All I'm asking to do is that a committee would be put in place to examine the feasibility of it. Then that committee could report back to county committee, maybe in the first half of next year, and say yes, this is a runner and it could be trialled in 2027, maybe in one of the middle grades.”

In this year’s McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC, Blake’s native club Adrigole had three group games and the closest was in Skibbereen, an hour away. Such situations limit the likelihood of neutral attendees, whereas he feels that a home match would draw spectators from neighbouring clubs.

He acknowledges that there may be reluctance from the county board side about the administration of gate receipts, but does not see it as insurmountable obstacle.

“So one of the concerns that people have asked me about is how it would work from a practical point of view,” he says.

“How the gates would be managed is a big thing. For the last few years, Cork have been using the Universe system, which everyone is familiar with, and what that does is give the county board a whole load of information and data regarding attendances.

“What you would do is, you would use that data to your advantage and you would charge the club a fee for the gates – then they keep what they sell for the match. The club people are on the gate and it’s in the best interest for the club to gather as much money as possible.

“Also, what it does is that the county board would issue invoices in, say, March or April, and there’s a boost in revenue for the county board coffers in March, April, May, when they're not getting any gate money.

“Clubs could also organise big fundraisers around their home match, to make an event of it.

“It would be a big opportunity for clubs to make money, but this is also about sending our games to grounds that are well-maintained around the county and bringing the games to all the corners of the county and getting the neutrals back.”

Citing the Munster SHC as a prime example of how home and away fixtures have improved the product, Blake believes that, at the very least, the issue should be explored.

“What I would hope is that the CCC set up a sub-committee,” he says, “and I’ve no problem sitting on that.
“If they say that it’s a non-runner, then so be it, but I would hope that people come into this with open eyes and open minds and say that this has worked in other counties.

“I’m not trying to fly to the moon or reinvent the wheel; I’m looking at other counties and looking at the facilities that clubs have.

“Adrigole played in Bantry this year – it’s a superb venue but, unless you have a Beara team playing a Carbery team or a West Muskerry team, they’re not going to get county matches. At present, the only chance such clubs have to host games is if they were to win a county title and get a home draw in Munster.

“Why should they be penalised just because of their geographical location?”