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Club Football Championships - General Discussion

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Replying To gaa.88:  "Good post WanPintWin. As a Kerryman I will admit that of course Kerry have a huge advantage in the intermediate and junior grades. However our system in Kerry works very well. Croke park ordered a few years back that the county championship has to be limited to 16 teams. Becuase in Kerry we have divisional teams ( an amalgamation of smaller clubs) that play in the county championship then we could only have 8 senior teams and 8 divisional teams. Of course then that means the 9th best club team in Kerry are intermediate and if they win that championship it gives them a big advantage in the All Ireland run. We in Kerry think having the divisional teams are brilliant ( altho if they win they cant represent the county as they are a few clubs amalgamated). Divisonal teams gives every player a chance to play senior county championship football no matter what grade their club is . If a player is good enough from a weak club they can play with a divisional team. In fact both the Cliffords would have never been able to play county championship football only for the divisional team as their club Fossa is not senior. Now this year the diviosional teams are decreasing so we have 9 senior club teams and next year I believe Kerry will have 10 senior club teams and 6 divisional teams. This still gives us an advantage but cuts it down a little as it will be our 11th best team representing Kerry at intermediate instead of 9. Our system is used for the betterment of Kerry football and we think its a great system for players in Kerry but yes it is advantagous to Kerry clubs representing the county."
Lots of talk about counties different league and championship systems. On Sunday Kerry's system didn't win it for their teams in the two finals. Clogher missed too many chances and Glenullin didn't play attacking football. Kerry can't be blamed for that.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2537 - 13/01/2026 13:39:48    2650932

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Replying To Saynothing:  "Lots of talk about counties different league and championship systems. On Sunday Kerry's system didn't win it for their teams in the two finals. Clogher missed too many chances and Glenullin didn't play attacking football. Kerry can't be blamed for that."
On the individual games, I agree completely. I've already made my thoughts clear on Glenullin's tactics, which were very poor in my opinion.
On a general point, Kerry teams have an advantage in the provincial and All-Ireland junior and intermediate championships. It doesn't mean they're unbeatable, but does make it harder for clubs from other counties.

Plenty clubs like Galway's Oughterard when they beat Templenoe in 2020, have beaten the Kerry representatives against the odds. I think Templenoe were 1/7 for that game with the bookies. They had 4 Kerry county panelists at the time, which for an intermediate club was amazing.
It is what it is. Kerry aren't to blame for it.
It should be acknowledged but there's no point griping about it. Kerry should always do what's best for them.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 2698 - 13/01/2026 14:17:33    2650937

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Replying To gaa.88:  "Correct.Croke park has a different surface to every other gaa pitch and the ball bounces differently too off the surface.Players playing there for the first time will tell you its completely different. While Croke park is not the biggest dimension wise it is still fairly big with 145m x 88m with the largest being 145m x 90m. Semple stadium is 145m x 80m."
We have used the same playing surface on Hyde Park as been used in Croke Park and I'm sure we aren't alone in doing that. Sand and top layer rolled out grass imported from Wexford I think.

The_analyser (Roscommon) - Posts: 4235 - 13/01/2026 14:59:46    2650943

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Replying To WanPintWin:  "People always go on about the dimensions of Croke Park when talking about how it plays big. It's actually to do with the surface. It plays faster than any pitch in the country, as the surface is immaculate. The ball bounces much faster off the ground and players can use the space much more effectively. Unlike a pitch with a softer and thicker surface, Croke Park is not a defender's friend."
I think what I was trying to allude to was that for club final players and intermediate & junior especially, its usually their first (and often only) time playing there and add in what you said about the pitch and the bounce its far from ideal for players on final day. I think the whole atmosphere is swallowed up and largely void in the expanse of the whole stadium. Im basing this on my observations of recent finals (in croke park) and then on the provincial finals and AI semi finals in county grounds and the close & quality games we got there. There are two club teams from Derry & Tyrone that had absolutely nightmare experiences this weekend and nobody wants to see that. I dont think itd happen or be nearly as bad in any other stadium.

Dothesimplethingswell (Sligo) - Posts: 44 - 13/01/2026 22:14:27    2650974

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Replying To legendzxix:  "Sorry but your comment is completely out of touch. All clubs want to be in Croke Park. Not much else to be said. It has to be said."
Thank you

Dothesimplethingswell (Sligo) - Posts: 44 - 14/01/2026 00:56:24    2650980

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Replying To Saynothing:  "Lots of talk about counties different league and championship systems. On Sunday Kerry's system didn't win it for their teams in the two finals. Clogher missed too many chances and Glenullin didn't play attacking football. Kerry can't be blamed for that."
However the point is Glenullin are probably outside the top 12 club teams in Derry and Dingle are in top 8 in Kerry, if Dingle had to play a top 8 Derry team in the final and similar a top 8 team from the other counties along the way in the Munster club championship and in the All Ireland semi would it be more difficult for Dingle to win the title, very much so I'd say.

sligo joe (Dublin) - Posts: 1039 - 14/01/2026 09:00:12    2650986

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It is a matter for all counties to assess if they have too many senior clubs. The choice for Kerry really is 10 or 12. The plan is 10 senior clubs and 6 district clubs. The original plan was 8 district clubs being guaranteed a second game, resulting in 6 qualified. 2 district clubs then merged meaning 7 district clubs playing for 5 spots. 1 district club isn't guaranteed a second game.

legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 9344 - 14/01/2026 13:47:26    2651037

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