Horan flags potential changes to Gaelic football

An informative presentation was made by James Horan to Mayo GAA delegates at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park last Wednesday evening, where the former Mayo senior football manager gave an insight to the work being undertaken by the GAA’s Football Review Committee.

The FRC, chaired by Horan’s old adversary Jim Gavin, who enjoyed unprecedented success during his tenure as Dublin manager, has been tasked by GAA president Jarlath Burns to conduct a thorough review of Gaelic football and to propose change that could, as Horan puts it, “positively bias the game”.

James Horan is one of several high-profile members of a committee that also includes former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice and ex-Donegal star Michael Murphy. The sense, said the Ballintubber clubman, is that football could be made “better than it was”, with an emphasis on attacking, more one-on-one play, and more contact.

“The key focus is to provide the best possible game experience for players and supporters; our North Star is that Gaelic games will be the most enjoyable games in the world to play and watch.

“We’re taking our job on the FRC very seriously to make sure we get this right, so that it does positively influence the game and that we make it better than it was,” said Horan, who led Mayo to All-Ireland SFC finals in 2012, 2013, 2020 and 2021.

“There’s been loads of suggestions, from mad, crazy, complex stuff to the very simple. Some people think the game is in disarray whereas some people think just a few small tweaks here and there might be enough.” The remit of the Football Review Committee includes evaluating the current rules and regulations of Gaelic football, including their application and enforcement, to identify potential areas for modification or enhancement that could contribute to a more exciting and dynamic viewing experience.

“We’ve gone through the rulebook in detail and there’s quite a lot of rules we’d like to take out of the rulebook or streamline, so that it’s absolutely clear,” explained James Horan who said that alone would help referees and players develop a greater understanding and better relationships on the field. The FRC is also examining the pace and flow of Gaelic football matches and considering options to maintain a balance between tradition and introducing innovations that could increase the overall entertainment value for spectators.

James Horan said the committee would examine “and take the good stuff” from previous reviews of Gaelic football and explore possibilities for adjusting scoring systems or introducing new elements that could encourage more strategic and engaging gameplay. For example, he highlighted a suggestion made recently by Connacht GAA president – and former inter-county referee – Vincent Neary, that three points could be awarded for a league win with a losing bonus point on offer to a team that scores 15 points.

The FRC, through an online survey (nearly 5,000 have participated so far) and meetings like last Wednesday’s, is engaging with players, coaches, officials and fans to “gather diverse perspectives on the current state of Gaelic football and to identify potential changes that align with both the spirit of the game and the desire for a more entertaining spectator experience.” James Horan gave a taste of some of the ideas of how to improve the game that have emerged so far, with a reminder that changes would likely need to be implementable at club level as well as county · To start the game, a one-on-one contest at throw-in, to cut out much of the wrestling between players currently seen.

· All kick-outs to take place from the small rectangle.

· To deny a goalkeeper participating in an attacking play until the ball has crossed the ’65, to prevent the ball being passed back to them.

· A time limit on how long before a team must bring possession across the halfway line.

· To have three attackers ‘up’ in the opposition’s half at all times.

· The advanced mark to only apply inside the 20-metre line, allowing for longer kicks.

· Four points awarded for a goal, two points awarded for any shot scored from outside a 35-metre arc.

· Tap and go… if a player is fouled, that they can take a solo tap and go, as in rugby.

· Four allocated times in a game to introduce substitutes.

· Removing the pick off the ground.

There are lots of pros to the latter proposal, but is it a skill of gaelic football that we should be maintaining, asked James Horan of Mayo GAA delegates who, at the end of the former manager’s presentation, broke into several groups to discuss those and other potential improvements to the game. It’s all that – and much more – that the Football Review Committee is, and will be, teasing out in the weeks and months to come. James Horan said it is intended to pressure-test between five and ten proposals this June and July, in several trial matches involving high-level players who are no longer involved in this year’s All-Ireland Championship.

Any proposals that the FRC puts forward to Congress in October will, if passed, be implemented in next year’s league and championship.