Radical change is coming to gaelic football in 2025. At Special Congress at Croke Park on Saturday, every rule change proposed by the GAA's FRC was ratified.
Even more than that, the rules were voted in with an overwhelming majority.
93% of delegates voted to bring the new rules into the club game, a sign of just how badly change is wanted in the game, from top to bottom.
After the new rules were ratified, Jim Gavin addressed the delegates saying:
"You're the leaders of the Association. The decision that you have taken will influence how we play our games. The FRC is here to serve you, not ourselves.
"We commit to continue our engagement. Have we got it right? I'm not saying we have."
Criticism of decision about implementation of new football rules
The question as to when to implement these rules changes is an interesting one.
The GAA calendar is unwieldy. The 2024 Club Championship will not be decided until the first month of 2025. It would be strange to play the All-Ireland club semifinals and finals under different rules.
The preseason intercounty competitions have been scrapped so the decision was taken to introduce these rules in the first round of the Allianz Leagues.
The first round of the Sigerson is set to take place in early January. Curiously, today's Special Congress decided that the 2024 Electric Ireland Higher Education Championships, including the Sigerson Cup, would be played under gaelic football's old rules.
With the Allianz Leagues set to begin on January 25, it means university players who also represent their counties will have to switch rules from game to game as the third-level competitions enter the knockout phases
Playing the Sigerson under the new rules could have provided an interesting staging ground. It also would have attracted enhanced interest from the general public for these brilliant competitions.
On Twitter, UL manager Declan Brouder called the decision a 'huge opportunity lost'.
Huge opportunity lost for Sigerson cup competition in 2025. https://t.co/nqKjJSjIWV
— Declan Brouder (@DB11NCW) November 30, 2024
For neutrals, the Electric Ireland Higher Education Championships tend to be the most exciting games to watch, no matter what rules are in a place. The draws for the competition will take place next month.
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