Clontarf were successful in sending the motion forward to Congress in February requiring some league involvement for players.
If passed it would require serious overhaul of the current split season and within that, competition structures.
“Inter-county and club league games will be scheduled in a way that allows this eligibility requirement to be met,” the motion read.
It has been driven in recent months by the former Dublin footballer Noel McCaffrey, father of Dublin wing-back Jack, who has been highlighting what he perceives as a growing disconnect between inter-county players and their clubs despite the provisions of the split season.
In some cases Dublin players may only play three to four championship games with their clubs in a year, especially if their inter-county season extends. A similar situation prevails in many leading counties.
The Clontarf motion does allow for “exceptional circumstances (including injury) where the requirement could be reduced or waived but only with Central Council approval.
And for dual players the league threshold could be met by aggregation of club hurling and football game involvement.
In a circular to Dublin clubs prior to convention, Clontarf set out their rationale for making the proposal and the outline of a calendar that would facilitate it.
The changes, as they observe have created situations where there is
– “systematic separation of talented players from their clubs, starting with the development squads.
– virtually no club league games played by county panelists since 2000s, despite almost no change in the club league or the inter-county programmes.
– clubs that insist on having county players for the last two league games are criticised for ‘holding up the league’.
Clontarf envisage an early season 14-week block for inter-county league hurling and football played on alternate weekends with players released back to their clubs on weekends that their counties are not playing.
Phase two would be a four-week break between the league and the championship where two club championship games could potentially be played and players train with their clubs.
A ‘three-month’ championship window then opens that allows for exclusive access to players for county teams. And finally a six-week period where the county championships are completed.
It would essentially mean a return to September All-Ireland finals.
Clontarf say the only way it can work is “by rule, not persuasion” but feel it would “restore the core principle of club as the centre of the GAA (and) bring back what is unique in the GAA.”
They also note potential opposition from county managers, county boards and the Gaelic Players Association.
