Clubs vote narrowly to stay with Winter Soccer season

The Annual General Meeting of the North Tipperary & District League held in Rearcross voted to retain Winter soccer for the upcoming campaign.

In light of the management committee’s proposal to revert to a Summer schedule, the clubs voted narrowly, 10 to 8, to retain the current structure.

Moneygall FC lodged a motion that the return date for the next season be discussed at the AGM and put to a vote. Club delegate Henry Healy explained that Moneygall’s view was that the democratic right of the clubs should be heard, and it should be put to a vote, rather than an autocratic decision being made by the Committee.

BT Harps FC also lodged a motion that a debate be had, and a vote taken by the clubs as to whether to stay with a Winter season or switch to a Summer season.

Club delegate Richie Kennedy put forward the view that to allow the league to be a better standard, clubs need to have as many players as possible available to them and stated that the greatest opportunity of achieving this is by playing Winter soccer.

Borroway Rovers were the other club to lodge a motion regarding the proposed change to Summer soccer. Paul Gould put forward several reasons for this including that that switching to a Summer soccer season would not solve the refereeing shortage.

NT&DL Secretary Adrian Cooke then stated that the secretary of the North Tipperary Referee’s Society Naoise Lawlor, had issued correspondence ahead of the AGM, outlining that their preference was for a Summer season.

In the end it went to a vote and Winter soccer won by the narrowest of margins (10-8) with Cloughjordan, BT Harps, Borrisoleigh, Borroway Rovers, Birdhill, Rearcross, Sallypark Odhrans, Silvermines, Holycross, and Moneygall all voting for the retention of Winter soccer while Arra Rovers, Ardcroney, Ballymackey, Borrisokane, Clodiagh Rangers, Lough Derg, Thurles Town, and Templetouhy all voted for Summer soccer.

For those – like this writer - who were pushing for a Summer season, it was a disappointing result, especially given the fact that one club voting the other way would have left the vote even.

I believe that in the next five years we will see the NT&DL revert to a Summer soccer season. The reason the NT&DL Committee’s proposal failed this time round was largely due to lack of planning and notice.

At the time of the AGM, the pitches of both Rearcross and Moneygall were both in the process of huge investment in end of season works, and would therefore not be available for matches for upwards of a month, which was well clear of the Committee’s proposed start date of the new Summer season.

If Summer soccer is going to work in the future, there needs to be at least a full season’s notice, and a sufficient gap between seasons to allow players and pitches to rest and recover.

Ultimately, the NT&DL Committee should not look at this as a failed endeavour, but instead a lesson learned as to how they can successfully implement Summer soccer in the future.