Nothing to fear from the aligned calendar season in North Tipperary

By Gary Culbert

Last month, delegates at the general assembly of the Football Association of Ireland voted in favour of a switch to an aligned, calendar season, which will see the youth and amateur elements of the game switch to a calendar season, in line with the League of Ireland season.

The implementation will occur on a phased basis; 5 to 12 year age groups will switch in 2026, 13 to 16 year old age groups will move to a calendar season in 2027, with all youth and adult amateur leagues moving in 2028.

The North Tipperary & District League (NT&DL) committee canvassed their clubs on how they should cast their vote, with all but one club voting against the proposed change.

This debate has been ongoing over the past five years in North Tipperary, with the junior league having trialled summer soccer for three seasons, albeit during the Covid pandemic, before narrowly voting to make a return to the winter format.

The reaction from North Tipperary clubs to the switch has been one of fear, with some clubs worried about their ability to field teams at all age groups. One club with an ‘A’ and ‘B’ junior team stated that the switch would likely see their club reduced to one team, which would be made up of a mix of the ‘remaining’ players left behind from both teams; the players that are not lost to other sports.

However, the fear on the ground within clubs is not matched at all at committee level. The view from the NT&DL and NTSFL (North Tipperary Schoolchildren’s Football League) is clear – we can adjust our competitions to make this work for our clubs.

There has been a lot of confusion over what a calendar season will actually look like. Simply put; it is not strictly summer soccer. There is enough freedom within the new format to allow a calendar season to work for clubs in the NT&DL and NTSFL, in a way that does not negatively affect the affiliated clubs.

It is very early days yet, but there are already some ideas on how a calendar season can be conducted so that there is still a break in summer at the peak of the season. For example, leagues could start in late January or early February, and run until June where long evenings would allow for midweek fixtures at the business end of campaigns.

Within a calendar season there is a significant degree of flexibility, indeed it is possible that there could then be a break in football during the peak GAA and holiday season of July and August, with teams returning in September to play out their cup competitions.

In the NT&DL, the traditional Nora Kennedy, Barry, Ricky Fogarty & Kevin Fogarty Cups would remain, but may need some adjustments to ensure that teams are not coming back after the break for just two cup games.

The NTSFL have some interesting ideas on format changes to their cup competitions to ensure that teams are not knocked out of cups early and left with no football for the rest of the year.

After the vote for an aligned calendar season passed, the FAI Grassroots Director Ger McDermott said: “This result reinforces our commitment to deliver more football, more often, with more variety for all our players.”

With that statement in mind, the NTSFL are in the early stages of discussing the inclusion of a small-sided tournament during the summer break. Something similar is running already in the North Tipperary Women's League, where a 7 aside winter league is being run on astroturf pitches.

The obvious positive to the change is that players will be playing football in better conditions, whilst it remains to be seen if there will in fact be ‘more football, more often, with more variety’ in North Tipperary.