Restructure The Football League To Reduce Between The Top Teams & The Rest
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Is there any merit in restructuring the football league back to 1A & 1B (similar to pre 2008)?
The gap between the strongest counties & the rest seems to be widening (Cork & Cavan's defeats of Kerry & Donegal excepted) each year. Too little attention has been given to the effect the division 1/2/3/4 structure in place since 2008 has had on widening gaps in standards, with the gap from division one to two being obvious in recent years. The Tailteann Cup, whilst beneficial in providing silverware for counties, will not address the gap between the top 6/7 teams and the rest. From a GAA perspective, a 1A & 1B format is used in hurling to try bring more counties up in standard, so why not the same approach for football?
Divisions 1A & 1B could be drawn from a seeded draw of the top 2 divisions, with divisions 3 & 4 changed to divisions 2 & 3 respectively. Bottom team in 1A & 1B relegated & replaced by top 2 in new division 2. Possibly the worst 7th place in 1A or 1B could play 3rd in division 2 in a playoff.
The counties currently of division 2 standard would get higher quality games & this would bring them on. It would also increase gate receipts & give more exposure to these counties.