Fans will see light during league, but GAA still don't
Related Articles
The 2008 National Football League will be 'light' heavy. The move towards more floodlit league matches will see almost half the mainstream football fixtures played on Saturday night in 2008.
By contrast all the main hurling matches will remain fixed to Sunday afternoons.
Unlike last year however, when Dublin and Tyrone met before an 80,000 Croke Park crowd for the first game under the new lights, the GAA have missed an opportunity to use headquarters for a big opening night launch to the league.
Instead Dublin, now a Division 2 team, have been fixed to play Westmeath on Saturday, February 2, not a fixture to whet the appetite or attract a sufficient crowd to make an atmosphere in Croke Park. With crowd pullers like Armagh, under new management, and Meath, who haven't met Dublin in the league for 12 years, it must rank as an opportunity missed.
Hosts
Instead Armagh and Meath will both face Dublin in Sunday afternoon fixtures with Armagh hosts, presumably in Crossmaglen, on Sunday, March 30 and Meath travelling to Parnell Park for the last round on Sunday, April 13.
Armagh and Meath against Dublin under lights in Croke Park would have been the perfect launch for the league, regardless of Dublin's second tier status.
But the abject lack of thought put into the league fixtures is once again apparent and the prospect of no high profile match taking place under lights at Croke Park in 2008 is a real one.
Still, a meeting between the reigning League champions Donegal and All-Ireland champions Kerry in Ballybofey, where Donegal were triumphant last March, is not a bad place to start.
The Hurling League will start a week earlier than usual with Cork and Kilkenny sharing top billing on Sunday, February 10.
But the visit of Clare to Galway on that same day will also generate interest as Mike McNamara and Ger Loughnane go head to head for the first time as rival inter-county managers.
Dispensed
The three-week break that football teams enjoyed after the opening two rounds of the league has been dispensed with.
All round, seven football games have been fixed for Sunday, April 13 to avoid any advantage being accrued from having a known target to aim at if scoring difference is required to separate teams.
Some 27 of the 56 Division 1 and 2 games will be played on Saturday night, giving the GAA even greater bargaining power as they negotiate TV rights for the next three years with interested broadcasters.
For the last three years Setanta have had the rights to Saturday night league games with TG4 showing live and deferred Sunday games.
Kerry, Derry and Tyrone will all play five of their seven league matches under lights.
The new Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney faces a tough opening on Saturday February 3 when he takes his team to Healy Park in Omagh to face Tyrone.
On the same night the reigning League champions Donegal meet Kerry while Derry and Mayo are also on the programme in Celtic Park.
- Colm Keys
