Hurling league format faces another review

The regulation stage of the 2023 competition was completed over the weekend but it rarely sparked and there is general consensus now that some change is required.

The GAA’s Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) is to undertake a review and consider proposals, the director of club, player and games administration Feargal McGill has confirmed.

As it is, only one Division 1 team is relegated and that has left most of the established teams in the comfort zone.

The hurling league underwent its most recent change for 2020 when, after the establishment of the provincial championship round-robin groups in 2018, it was decided to switch back to two six-team Division 1 groups of equal standard, removing promotion/relegation between the groups.

That has taken the pressure off most teams and allowed them to experiment with personnel without the jeopardy of relegation hanging over them as it did for 1A teams between 2013 and 2019.

The hurling league format has undergone 10 distinct changes in format over the last 25 years.

Meanwhile, Galway’s 2017 All-Ireland-winning captain David Burke will miss the 2023 season after it was confirmed by Galway manager Henry Shefflin over the weekend that he had sustained a cruciate ligament injury at training last week.