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League
leaders hit in great divide - 21/12/02
Article appeared in Irish Independent
- Tuesday December 17th 2002
A DESIGN flaw in the Allianz Football League
left some Division One counties subsidising other top-flight
sides in the share-out of finances for the 2002 competition.
And the problem will get worse next year
as the massive difference in drawing power between Divisions
1A and 1B becomes even more apparent. Since both provide
two semi-finalists each, they are supposed to be of equal
standard but that is not the case, a fact reflected in the
gate returns from either section.
It has also emerged that several games
in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 of the hurling league are run at
a loss, with match day expenses costing more than the gate
returns. This, in turn, led to the stronger counties having
their pay-out reduced so as to ensure that the rest got
some money.
The policy of using the powerful counties
to subsidise others is regarded as an integral part of the
League set-up but it was never intended that some Division
1 football teams would have to support others who are supposed
to be of comparable standard.
However, Division 1A of the NFL is vastly
superior in terms of drawing power, as reflected in the
gate returns for 2002. It yielded almost twice as much to
the ordinary share pool as Division 1B where Mayo, Clare,
Derry, Down and Fermanagh all had to receive extra money
to bring their return up to the guaranteed minimum of €18,359.
The difference between the two groups will
be even more obvious next spring as All-Ireland finalists,
Kerry and Armagh, were promoted to Division 1A while Meath
and Laois move up to 1B. Offaly and Westmeath drop out of
Division 1A while Clare and Derry were relegated from 1B.
That means that Division 1A will be made up of All-Ireland
champions Armagh, runners-up Kerry, Leinster champions Dublin,
Munster champions Cork, Connacht and 2001 All-Ireland champions
Galway, League champions Tyrone, All-Ireland quarter-finalists
Donegal and 2001 Connacht champions Roscommon.
Meanwhile, Division 1B will comprise Kildare,
Cavan, Mayo, Sligo, Meath, Laois, Fermanagh and Down.
The gate receipts from Division 1A are
likely to be three times as high as Division 1B but a sizeable
proportion of them will go to subsidising the other Divisions,
including Division 1B, which is supposed to be of equal
standard.
With the exception of expenses, rent, insurance
fund, players' injury scheme and various other costs, all
League gate receipts and sponsorship monies go back to the
counties, making it a hugely important competition in terms
of revenue. Twenty per cent of all gate receipts are put
into a special pool to be shared out at the end of the competition,
thus guaranteeing that every county gets a guaranteed minimum.
It's an equitable system of distributing
wealth and ensures that weaker counties get a fair return
but the imbalance between Divisions 1A and 1B is now causing
a problem. The vast difference in terms of pubic interest
will become obvious on opening day of the 2003 season on
February 2 when Division 1A offers Dublin v Armagh, Cork
v Kerry, Galway v Donegal and Roscommon v Tyrone against
1B's far less attractive programme: Fermanagh v Down; Kildare
v Cavan; Mayo v Sligo; Meath v Laois.
Pressure is mounting to switch Dublin v
Armagh from Parnell Park to Croke Park where a crowd of
25,000 could be expected, making it a bigger draw than the
four Division 1B games put together.
Each football county was guaranteed a minimum
of €18,359 from the League this year. Despite being in Division
1B, Cavan, who lost the final to Tyrone, were the top earners
from gate receipts, taking €91,208. That was helped enormously
by the big crowd which turned out to see their semi-final
clash with Roscommon. Tyrone earned €78,130, followed by
Roscommon €58,766, Westmeath €39,248, Dublin €38,268 and
Donegal €33,654.
Cork, who were runners-up in the hurling
League, earned €78,177, while winners Kilkenny took €66,430,
followed by Tipperary on €59,915, Limerick on €56,960 and
Clare on €27,566. Some of the Division 2 games and all of
the Division 3 and 4 ties lost money as gate receipts didn't
cover expenses. However, those counties were subsidised
by the big earners so that all participants received a minimum
of €6,122.
Total gate receipts for hurling and football
combined were €1,330,368, an increase of €383,000 on the
previous year. Meanwhile, Tyrone football boss Mickey Harte
has confirmed that Fr Gerard McAleer is to be part of his
management team. The back-up team is completed by Paddy
Tally.
Martin Breheny
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