LAST UPDATE | 24 Feb
JARLATH BURNS, THE new GAA President, has pledged to try to make football a more attractive game to watch and play.
The former Armagh captain also said that the cost of preparing senior county panels will be tackled during his three-year tenure, which began today after he was ratified at Congress in Newry.
Burns resolved to make 2025′s event “a rule change Congress”.
“I have established a Football Review Group to completely take every aspect of the game apart and put it all together . . . with a view to making Gaelic football a more enjoyable spectacle to watch and play,” Burns said in his presidential inauguration speech.
“The sight of endless passing across the half forward line, without any risks being taken, before the ball is channelled back to a midfielder who repeats the process from the other side of the pitch, is not what Gaelic football should be. I think we can all agree on that.”
Burns also addressed the spiralling cost of preparing inter-county teams, calling it a “financial noose around the necks of county boards”.
“Over the past three years, I have sat in every GAA county committee room in Ireland on two occasions,” Burns said.
He added: “In 2019, I did a lot of talking and in 2023, I did a lot of listening. And the message from all counties was the same.
“The senior inter-county game is becoming a financial noose around the necks of county boards as they seek new and innovative ways of giving their teams that little edge over their rivals.
“And at the end of the year, there can still only be a very small number of captains holding the cups, regardless of how much money has been spent on preparing county teams.”
Earlier, Congress passed a motion that will remove the seven-day ruling preventing players featuring in senior and U20 championship matches, replacing it with a 60-hour restriction.
The annual Congress in Newry saw 71.5% of delegates support the motion brought forward by Cork. It will now come into place from the 2025 season on.
The motion saw Cork seek to allow players feature in both senior and U20 games, so long as they were at least 60 hours apart, as opposed to the policy this year where there had to be seven days between such games. It will now allow for example a player to line out at U20 level on a Wednesday night and be available from the following Saturday afternoon for senior selection.
The 2023 championship saw Cork’s Eoin Downey and Clare’s Adam Hogan both unable to play in the Munster U20 hurling final, due to the policy that was in place.
The previous rule only applied for Tier One in hurling and football championships, and Tier Two in football, but the new system will apply across the board in all tiers.
A motion that cards issued in normal time carry forward into extra time, was also passed. Some 87 per cent of delegates voted in favour of the proposal.
