Over the weekend, GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghaíl confirmed a report in the Sunday Times which revealed major changes could be coming for the All-Ireland Hurling Championship.
A round-robin format for the Munster and Leinster Championships could be in place by next year. It would mean a five-team group for both provincial Championships, with each team playing four games each. The top two in the groups would contest the provincial finals.
The format could alleviate a major issue in the Leinster Championship - Galway not playing home games. They would be allowed two games under the new structure.
Though Joe Canning believes increased home games would be big for the Galway County Board and the promotion of the game in the county, he does think it is a factor for players.
No it is not. It doesn't matter to me, it is the same thing, it is only just to promote the game that bit more, to get more people playing it and it is our national game at the end of the day, the GAA.
That is for me, maybe other guys have different views. I don't mind where we are playing as long as we have matches.
Canning is in favour of the new structure, though. He feels the addition of more Championship games could be of benefit overall.
Yeah, it could take the pressure off because it refocuses straight away. It condenses a lot more, you would get a lot more club too. We might have an actual set calendar, we had five weeks (in the League) we played one club match in between. If you were playing every second week, you'd have less waste of time, not that it is a waste of time, you'd just have less time on the training ground and more time on the pitch. I think it would suit everybody a lot better.
You might have more time outside of sport where you could have a holiday or something like that or a week off, when you know you'd have a week off to recharge the body. I think one of the boys played 14 out of 16 weeks since the start of the year which is crazy really. He might only play two or three matches for the rest of the year, it doesn't stack up.
Bord Gáis Energy yesterday launched its new #HurlingToTheCore campaign at Croke Park to mark the beginning of a summer of hurling. #HurlingToTheCore celebrates Bord Gáis Energy’s belief that hurling is more than a sport or pastime - it is deeply ingrained in Irish history and stitched into our national identity.
Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
