Any element of suspense surrounding the proposals of the Football Review Committee (FRC) had long since evaporated by the time of Saturday’s special congress to pass final judgment on the overhaul of the game.
There was irony in that the FRC’s chair and guiding light, Jim Gavin, was not centre stage to sign off on the work that he had so expertly guided in the previous 20 months, but the conception and execution of the football reforms were never under threat.
Liam Keane, chair of the Standing Committee on the Playing Rules (SCPR), deputised, as he had at Central Council, in steering through the 62 motions on the clár at Croke Park. Gavin dropped in at the end and, with the other FRC members, took a round of applause, but he then had electioneering business in what was proving a turbulent week for him in the presidential race.
Some of those members presented themselves for their last formal involvement of the committee’s remit, a final press conference on the congress outcome.
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Understandably weary after 20 intense months, the general sentiment was summarised by James Horan saying the experience had been “hugely enjoyable” and a privilege “getting into a room with the aim of everyone with a common purpose of trying to improve the game”.
The only reform that triggered any debate was the clock-hooter, which was opposed by Galway and questioned by Kildare. But it secured the backing of 67 per cent of the delegates – by far the lowest figure of support, as all other proposals secured average approval of 95 per cent.
The final report of the FRC, whose term of office is now complete, included 19 recommendations that were not part of the motions for immediate change.
These range from reviewing the idea of a four-point goal at the end of 2026 to initiating a new handpass rule – anyone receiving one must then kick the ball – at under-15 level and below.
These also include the establishment of two new bodies, one to continue the analysis work of the Games Intelligence Unit, which provided data about the new rules for the FRC this year, and the other, an expert football committee to advise the SCPR.
After the end of congress these ideas, which have a lot of merit, looked mildly threatened by reform fatigue, but GAA president Jarlath Burns didn’t entirely rest on his oars.
“They will be looked at through an amalgam – depending on their status – of Árd Comhairle, the SCPR and the expert panel, which is one of their recommendations. So that’s how we will process it, but we’re just going to take a breath now and enjoy the rules as they are and we will take our time looking and adjudicating on the recommendations,” he said.
Speaking for the FRC later, former Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice emphasised the importance of following up the recommendations.
“The Games Intelligence Unit ... I think to have a central hub like that is vital and probably could be extended to hurling as well. And equally the expert advisory group, that’s one of the recommendations to support the Standing Committee on the Playing Rules in their work. I think it is hugely important,” he said.
“We’ve all gone through a season now where we’ve experimented. People have been very patient with us and with the game. There were changes throughout the season. Our brief was to try and make it as good as possible, and that’s what we were doing.
“But I could understand being on the other side of the fence and seeing things being adjusted as a player or a manager, how that would have been frustrating. As a football community, we were patient and we’ve had a good result at the end. So, there is a balance probably to be struck between pushing on and at the same time not just leaving it to gather dust on the shelf now either.”
The clock-hooter was defended by another committee member, former Clare manager Colm Collins, who said it had been proved to work in women’s football.
“As someone that’s from a county that lost possibly an All-Ireland over this [the 1998 semi-final against Offaly], over human error, I think the hooter was very important. This, as you are all well aware, has been passed before, so the objective today was to get them over the line. Whether the majority was 95 or 67, let’s hope that this is introduced in full everywhere. I think it would be a massive plus in our games to see integrity regarding timekeeping,” he said.
“And I think that in relation to the hooter, the other thing that used to really annoy supporters was a person going down who was genuinely not injured just to run down the clock. That’s gone. So, if a fellah’s down injured now, the clock has stopped. I think that that’s very important.”
