‘A compulsory switch to summer football is not the solution…’ | Shane Keegan | OFF THE BALL BREAKFAST
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What is the main argument against compulsory summer football?
Off the ball. Rugby.
It is a poison chalice that all black, you know, coach. You don't win. You need 90% success rate and you need to win the rugby championship every year and you need to win the World Cup when that comes and then that's okay. You get a thumbs up from the public. Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at offtheball.com forward slash join. Off the ball. Breakfast. Ireland's sports breakfast show. It is probably a good advertisement for summer football, I think, at the moment, yeah. Yeah. A lot of kids this morning disappointed, I'd say, Doyler. Yeah, there's no matches on in my household this morning, which is rare enough. It's all called off because of the weather, yeah. Yeah. It is... I do think it is absolutely mad that there's a persistence that we can't align the calendars to the extent yet that kids play in the summer.
And I know people say, oh, it'll clash with this, it'll clash with that. I know anecdotally from Mace, the amount of games called off. And it is disappointing for the kids as well because it's very stop-start. And then when they're playing, they're often playing on really bad pitches. And if you want to develop as a player, you need to be playing on better pitches.
How do weather conditions affect youth football participation?
Pitchers were desperate when I was younger. and I know they're better now we don't have enough Astro facilities in this country and we should not be playing winter football like regardless of whether it's the Roscommon and District League that I played in as a kid or whether it's the League of Ireland or whether it's the elite level of underage football like it should be aligned at this stage for the better of everyone Yeah, no, I fully agree. I think all the schoolboy football and schoolgirl football should be summer football as well. Even when the clubs that do have the Astros, the facilities, the amount of teams, the growth of the game at underage level is huge now. Like my eldest lad plays for Leicester Celtic there and they've got some great teams under 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, whatever, but they're training on an eight of an Astro pitch for an hour twice a week.
It's hard to... If that was summer football, you'd have all the grass pitches available. to get some good training in. But we've come to a stage where still there are towns around Ireland and you can imagine in Kilkenny where Ireland predominates people will say well if you move our underage lads or girls to a summer season we won't be able to field a team with because of the pressure of Gaelic football or Hurling that's still not enough of a reason you have to find a way around that you have to work with the local teams and the other sports in my view anyway there's crossover already there is massive crossover already I see it with my young lads and all their friends playing multiple sports and you'll see them leaving one match to go play another one on the weekends or midweek even for training sessions it's just a natural thing when you've got sporty kids that want to play for a few different sporting codes but
For me, it is politics, a lot of egos involved here regarding the pushback on this. I don't know why the most participated sport in the country has to worry about other sports. That's a good point. Beyond belief, to me, it just does not make any sense that they need to worry about other sports. It's the most participated sport in the country. and growing every single year.
Alright, welcome back. So that clip from Saturday's show really took off, particularly on X, then Tommy Martin, the broadcaster, got involved. He was live with Owen last night, and now Shane Keegan is live with us this morning to continue this conversation, Shane, that it may have gone away from the front of the news, but as a topic and an issue, it's still very much at the forefront for many people's minds.
Yeah, it is an understandably column, as you say, when you look at the lovely weather that we're getting at the moment and stuff being cancelled right, left and centre. I agree with Tommy. I think this is a conversation that should constantly be had.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main argument against compulsory summer football?
0:00–1:10
2
How do weather conditions affect youth football participation?
1:10–6:30
3
What challenges do grassroots football clubs face in Ireland?
6:30–10:34
4
How does Shane Keegan view the relationship between football and GAA?
10:34–15:28
5
What are the implications of switching to summer football for local leagues?
15:28–22:49
6
How can facilities improve youth football experiences?
22:49–32:16
7
What role does volunteerism play in sports organization?
32:16–32:46
8
What are the future prospects for youth football in Ireland?
32:46–32:49
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from OTB Football
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