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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Donegal vice-chairman David McLoone
Donegal GAA vice-chairman, David McLoone, in his report to GAA Convention, feels that changes made to the senior club championship last year were, in the main, well received, but there was some discontent about there being no reward for the teams that finished in the top four.
McLoone's report to Convention, which is being held on Wednesday night next in Jackson's Hotel, Ballybofey, gives a comprehensive look at the role of the fixtures committee for the year.
He had a number of observations regarding both the championship and leagues.
"In senior football championship a change was proposed to make the league stages more competitive. On that basis the Preliminary Quarter Finals were introduced, with the 8 teams finishing 5th to 12th contesting a play off to determine 4 winners who would go on to meet the top 4 teams in the QFs," said McLoone in his report.
"This change was met with much positivity as it offered clubs a chance of staying in the competition even if they had a tough draw for the league stage. On the flip side clubs finishing in the top 4 felt that there should have been seeding for the QFs as a reward for finishing in the top places. This is something that can be considered for 2024."
As regards the leagues, he says that it is now accepted that clubs have to play most of the games without their county players.
"The majority of the league fixtures were played without intercounty players with the new split season coming into effect this year. This is the new norm where clubs can expect to play most, if not all, of the league campaigns without county players.
"The league programme for the most part ran very well. The Reserve leagues continue to be challenging competitions to run as some clubs struggle with player numbers and sometimes journey distances, which result in rearranged fixtures or walkovers. This again will be subject of discussion at future fixture forums," said McLoone in his report.
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