Kerry GAA delegates fully endorse proposal to increase to 10 the clubs in the County SFC and Senior Club Championship

A full delegate meeting of the Kerry County Committee on Thursday night heard from Dara Ó Cinnéide, the chairperson of the County SFC and Club Championships Review Committee, which carried out an extensive review and overhaul of the county’s two senior football competitions, with the committee’s recommendations passed by an almost unanimous show of hands from delegates.

With no recommendation to reduce the number of district board / divisional teams as they exist, two preliminary rounds will be required to bring the eight divisional teams down to six, which will then join the 10 club teams to comprise a 16-team county SFC as is required by Croke Park. The review committee recommends that the new county SFC format from 2026 will be played on a knock-out basis with a first round of eight teams versus eight team (open draw) followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final for the Bishop Moynihan Cup.

The Senior Club Championship from 2025 onward will comprise of three groups played on a round-robin basis followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

The 2024 county SFC will be run along the Christy Ring Cup format, which will involve six rounds and give each of the 16 teams at least two games.

The intermediate, junior premier and junior championships will remain as 16-team competitions to be run on their current format of a four groups of four tam, with quarter-finals to follow.

Mr Ó Cinnéide briefed delegates on the committee’s work, which sought the views of all the stakeholders in the county’s club competitions, with the chairman saying the views of and feedback from players and the divisional teams were particularly important in their work.

He added that there was an overwhelming appetite to retain the intermediate, junior premier and junior championships in their current formats, saying that the feedback was that the intermediate championship, in particular, was seen as not only one of the most competitive and best championships in Kerry but nationally.

In relation to the timing of the club championships, Mr Ó Cinnéide said it “did come up strongly from all clubs in most quarters” that the club championships would be completed before the start of the county senior football championship, and the review committee would “recommend strongly” that the CCC should try to do that.

Dara Ó Cinnéide said that under these new proposals there are fewer games. “In 2023 there were 31 games in the [county] championship while when we arrive in 2026 there will be 21 games in our proposed championship. All those game will be meaningful, there won’t be any dead rubbers under that format. And feeding back into player welfare and even on medical advice we received, that load going from 31 games to 21 in 2026 should help in terms of player welfare as well.”

On the concerns of district teams coming into the county championship, Mr Ó Cinnéide said: “There was concern raised when we met the districts, would [they] be coming in cold to the championship. Under our proposals you should not be, you get a minimum of two games at the start of the county championship and you should certainly not be going in cold.

“Clubs have those competitive games while the club championships are played before the county championship, be it senior or otherwise. But senior clubs coming out of a busy club championship, under our proposals they are going to get a break of some description here which wasn’t available to them in the previous iteration of the championship. But like any good championship if you’re not performing there has to be elimination, that’s the nature of it.

“There was no easy option available to us in terms of time-frame and everything else. We’re not saying it is perfect, we’re hoping it is palatable to many and ultimately fair. That’s the biggest thing we were looking for, the fairness of it.”

Four motions had been brought to the county committee last November with a view to a restructuring of the county SFC, in particular an increase from eight in the number of senior clubs in the county. Mr Ó Cinnéide said the thinking behind those motions – from Dingle, Austin Stacks, Kilcummin and John Mitchels – also informed the committee’s work.

The first three withdrew their motions on Thursday night, but John Mitchels asked that their motion – ‘That the top 32 teams compete in eight groups of four, with the top 16 [to] contest the Senior County Championship and the remaining 16 contest the Intermediate. The remaining teams contest Junior Premier, Junior and Novice.’

Mitchels’ delegate Pat McAuliffe spoke on and proposed the motion, but it failed to get a seconder and therefore failed.

Meanwhile, delegates Sean Barry (Annascaul), Linus Burke (Milltown/Castlemaine) and Derry Murphy (West Kerry) endorsed the review committee’s recommendations, with Mr Barry saying the new format would increase the number of senior clubs “while maintaining the integrity of the divisional teams in the county championship which is unique in Kerry and which is the envy of many counties” adding that it is “an excellent proposal”.

Mr Burke said the “excellent report gives everyone a small bit of what they want. Nothing can be perfect. I don’t think [this proposal] hurts any clubs team, it doesn’t hurt and district team… and it should be embraced wholeheartedly.”

Findings and recommendations

Club Championships The consensus across all groups is that the club championships are working very well. There is no desire for change here. Finishing the club championships before the commencement of the SFC did come up strongly. The committee would recommend that the senior (change of format to accommodate extra teams), intermediate and premier junior and junior championships are left in the format that they are currently in. The committee recommends that the Competitions Control Committee (CCC) should endeavour where possible to conclude the club championships before the SFC commences.

County Senior Football Championship Having discussed several different scenarios, the committee is making the following recommendation:

The SFC is to be made up of 10 senior clubs and 6 district teams from 2026 onwards. Preliminary round(s) will be required to arrive at 6 district teams. There will also need to be adjustments made in 2024, 2025 and 2026 to accommodate this format. These are outlined below.

2024 There will be no relegation from senior, intermediate or premier junior club championships for 2024. Winners will be promoted from Intermediate, Premier Junior and Junior as in previous years.

2025 County SFC

9 senior clubs and 6 district teams. Preliminary round 1: 8 district teams play off. 4 winners go into round 1 Preliminary round 2: 4 losers of preliminary round 1 play off. 2 winners go into round 1, 2 losers are out. Round 1: 15 teams, 9 clubs and 6 district teams (7 V 7) open draw and one bye (CCC to decide how this is done). Round 2: Quarter finals Round 3: Semi-finals Round 4: Final

2025 County Senior Club Championship

9 teams. 3 groups of 3. Two finalists from 2024 are kept apart. Two teams qualify from each group. Two quarter finals consisting of 3 runners-up and one winner which will be drawn. Two teams from the same group cannot play each other in a quarter final. No relegation. Rounds 1/2/3: Round robin Round 4: 2 Quarter finals Round 5: 2 Semi-finals Round 6: Final

2025 Intermediate & Premier Junior and Junior Club Championships

16 teams. Four groups of four. Three remaining semi-finalists from 2024 will be kept apart. Competition run in current format. Each club will get 3 group games. Two teams to qualify from each group. Top team gets home quarter final. No relegation. (In Junior 16 or 17 teams to be confirmed. A preliminary round may be required to get down to 16 teams).

2026 County SFC

10 senior clubs and 6 district teams. Preliminary round 1: 8 district teams play off. 4 winners go into Rd 1. Preliminary round 2: 4 losers of preliminary round 1 play off. The two winners go into round 1, two losers are out. Round 1: 10 clubs and 6 district teams (8 V 8) open draw. Round 2: Quarter-finals Round 3: Semi-finals Round 4: Final

2026 Senior Club Championship

10 teams. Two groups of 3, one group of 4. Finalists from previous year are kept apart. They will be drawn into group 1, group 2 or group 3 first. Group 1: 3 teams; Group 2: 3 teams; Group 3: 4 teams. Groups played on a round robin basis, 2 teams qualify from each group. Two quarter-finals will consist of three runners-up and the winners from group 1 or 2. This will be decided by a draw. Teams from the same group cannot play each other in a quarter-final. The two winners of the quarter-finals will join the group 3 winner and the winner of group 1 or 2 in the semi-finals. The bottom team from each group will play off for relegation. Third from group 1 will play Third from group 2. The loser will play the fourth team from group 3 in the relegation final. (The third team from group 3 will not play in the relegation play off).

2016 Intermediate and Junior Premier Club Championship

16 teams. Four groups of four. Three remaining semi-finalists from 2025 will be kept apart. Competition run in current format. Each club will get three group games. Two teams to qualify from each group. Top team gets home quarter-final. Relegation play-off between the bottom teams from each group.

2026 Junior Club Championship

15/16/17 teams (tbc). A preliminary round may be required to get down to 16 teams. Four groups of four. Three remaining semi-finalists from 2025 will be kept apart. Competition run in current format. Each club will get three group games. Two teams to qualify from each group. Top team gets home quarter final. No relegation.

CCC will decide on a yearly basis the procedure and format of this competition, based on the number of teams.