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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Vincent Whelan

Kerry GAA legend labels mooted proposal to get rid of league finals 'a disaster'

There's been continuing talk in GAA circles that the 2023 inter-county season will not see any league finals take place across the four divisions in football.

A CCCC proposal recommending the abolishment of these showpiece matches looks set to go before the GAA's Central Council this weekend.

It also reportedly includes the Championship season being extended by a week so that the All-Ireland final will take place on July 30 rather than 23.

READ MORE: Lee Keegan labels GAA media situation "a bit of a farce" and wants to see players and managers speak more

It's fair to say the radical shake-up to how the league is finalised has garnered a mixed reaction from fans.

Former Kerry forward Darran O'Sullivan is among the sceptics. He took to Twitter to outline why he feels getting of the league deciders would be a mistake.

He said: "Scrapping league finals would be such a disaster.

"For so many counties not just lower divisions it’s the best chance of playing in a final in Croke Park and climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand. GAA needs more big days not less!"

O'Sullivan's tweet (@Darransull86)

However, there were plenty who were quick to voice an opposing viewpoint to the Kingdom native.

One person wrote: "If you get enough points to finish top of the league, you win the league and get your medal for winning it. The league finals have been a nonsense for a long time."

To which O'Sullivan replied: "I get that but you take away another opportunity for the players to play in Croke Park.

"For some it might be there only chance at a final and for others it’s great prep for the bigger finals."

Meanwhile, someone else came down more in the middle as they wrote: "It's not a big day though. It's pre-season.

"The finals shouldn't be scrapped but they're not a big day. There was a terrible crowd at Mayo vs Kerry. 31k after 2 years of no crowds doesn't add up to a 'big day'."

But O'Sullivan was happy to back up his stance by adding: "They are for players!

"Any game in Croke Park with the chance of silverware is a big day. You can never have enough of these days as a player."

If these changes do come to pass over the weekend, you can be sure we'll hear plenty more on this debate over the months to come.

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