Sport

FDC hard sell continues

Central Council delegates at Croke Park on Saturday were generally favourably disposed to the Football Development Committee'…

By PAT ROCHE
Mon Dec 13 1999 - 00:00

Central Council delegates at Croke Park on Saturday were generally favourably disposed to the Football Development Committee's (FDC) "selling" strategy for its new championship proposals.

The presentation of the new format was convincingly put before the council by committee representatives Eugene McGee, Robbie Kelleher and Pat O'Neill. McGee outlined the principal points behind the new system. He told the delegates that the committee had tried to design a format that builds to a crescendo as the season develops. His final comment was: "Let nobody here insult our intelligence by suggesting that the current league format builds to a crescendo."

Robbie Kelleher predicted higher attendances, anything up to the 20,000 mark for matches involving promotion and relegation. The committee claim that the new format will realise revenue of £5 million, more than double the current average, and a figure that does not take into account the potential that television sponsorship and advertising would have for boosting revenue. In Kelleher's opinion the GAA could gather an additional windfall of £2 million arising from these sources. Wexford's Tony Dempsey and Seamus O'Brien of Waterford were particularly in favour of the format.

Down's Danny Murphy, though, sought opinions on the possible fate of the under-21 hurling championship, the National Hurling League and the Leinster and Munster hurling championships. Kerry's Tony O'Keeffe, in reply, said that in the event of football round robin matches clashing with hurling fixtures these football matches could be played on Saturday afternoons.

READ MORE

The notion that the round robin format may not be as attractive as the present championship method was raised by Murphy, considering that a Dublin v Meath championship match would be certain to attract country wide followers.

Eugene McGee suggested that if the recent National Football League match between Dublin and Kerry was played in April, May or June it would have attracted a crowd of 30,000 as opposed to the 6,000 that attended the match at Parnell Park.