Pat Spillane criticised the GAA in his Sunday World column for their congested fixture list.
It seems that we will have more games than we are used to in the 2023 calendar year. This is obviously beneficial for fans but puts a huge strain on players who are expected to play multiple games in a very short timeframe.
Between now and August teams are guaranteed to play 11 games and likely more if they go far into the All-Ireland and Provincial championships.
Spillane criticised the schedule specifically the point of playing a round-robin.
“In 27 weeks’ time, the All-Ireland Football Final will be played on July 30th.” he wrote in his Sunday World column.
“Between now and then, there are 22 football weekends plus the Sigerson Cup Final, which has a weekend to itself. So that’s 23 out of 27 weekends of action, leaving four in which I’ll have no football to discuss. It’s madness.
“Including the League Finals, there are eight Allianz League matches for counties in the next ten weeks.
“Spare a thought for Leitrim and Sligo. If either, or both of them, get to the Division Four League Final, they will be playing it a few days before heading to New York and London, respectively, for Championship action.
“And remember this is the ‘soft’ side of the draw in Connacht, where one of Sligo, Leitrim, London or New York will get a golden ticket into the new structure to play for the Sam Maguire Cup.
“Because of the round robins later in the summer, we have 33 extra matches to be played this year, with the GAA allocating one extra week to the calendar.
“Those round robins only get rid of four teams from the championship – more madness.”