"It's A No-Brainer"- Aaron Kernan On CPA Proposals
Former Armagh footballer Aaron Kernan has called for a change of the GAA fixture plan.
The Club Players Association put forward their three key proposals this week, on how they want to “Fix the Fixtures”.
They want April to be deemed a club-only month, with no action at all in December.
They also want club competitions to be completed within a calendar year.
Kernan- an 8-time Ulster Champion and 3-time All-Ireland winner with his club Crossmaglen, as well as a 4-time Ulster winner with Armagh, is the Grassroots Co-ordinator with the CPA.
He says the CPA want to “free up more time throughout the season, to allow more time so that every county board can sit there and say “well April is completely free”.
“We want the All-Irelands to be finished by mid-August, and from then on, it allows times for the clubs to finish out their campaigns.
Kernan admits he has little complaint in Armagh, as they are well treated, with a fixture list revealed in March every year.
However, he admits the county’s lack of success recently, as well as their focus mostly on just football helps that.
And it’s not the same with every county, with last minute postponements and confusion over fixtures a regular occurrence.
“It leads to uncertainty. Players don’t know when they’re supposed to be playing, when they’re gonna get a break, when’s their pre-season, when’s their off season?
“What are they trying to peak for?
Kernan pointed to the success of Marino side St Vincents in recent years, and how some of their players may have missed out on inter-county action with Dublin, because of their club’s success.
“Is there more St Vincent’s boys who have the potential to break on to a Dublin team, but because they’re successful with the club- and they’re not getting to play in the O’Byrne Cup or the league, are they missing out on breaking onto a county team? Maybe they are...
“It’s the same for every club that’s successful across the country.
Kernan also admits county sides are affected by these problems, as shown by the problems faced by Dublin and Clare in this year’s Allianz Hurling League, who were both involved in the Division 1A relegation playoff. Both counties were without Cuala and Ballyea players for most of the campaign, as they reached the All-Ireland final in March.
“That’s not a coincidence” says Kernan.
Listen to the interview in full above.