New football rules strongly backed at GAA Special Congress

The Football Review Committee led by ex-Dublin manager Jim Gavin (left) proposed the new rules for gaelic football

The motions at Saturday's GAA Special Congress on the new football rules have all been passed with huge majorities in the 18 votes as delegates backed the wide ranging changes proposed by Jim Gavin's Football Review Committee.

Only 60% support was required to enact change and none of the votes received less than 73% backing for new rules that will come into effect for the Allianz Football League which starts in late January.

After an enabling motion was accepted by a 93% vote which means the new rules will apply to club (after 31 March) and inter-county football and could be amended by the GAA's Central Council in 2025, the indication change was genuinely in the air came when 92% accepted the introduction of a 1v1 contest during the throw-ins.

A whopping 95% of delegates then voted to accept the introduction of a new 40-metre kickout arc which will mean that goalkeepers will have to find team-mates outside the sector, instead of opting for short kickouts.

The motion where outfield players will only be permitted to pass to the goalkeeper if they are both inside the large rectangle - or if the goalkeeper has advanced beyond their halfway - also gained 94% support.

Likewise, the motion calling for a minimum of three outfield players to remain in both halves at all times was accepted by 96% of delegates while the advanced mark proposal received 88% support.

This will enable players cleanly fielding the ball inside the 20-metre line, after it has been kicked from outside the 45, to continue on in an attempt to score from play, but with the ball being brought back for the mark if no score accrues.

The thinking behind this rule is aimed at incentivising teams to kick long into the forwards in the hope of fashioning more goal opportunities.

The motion calling for two points to be awarded for scores outside the new 40-metre arc received 91% backing with 96% support for the new 'solo and go' rule which will permit a player who has been fouled between the two 20-metre lines to immediately go on a solo run as opposed to pausing for his side to take a free.

The motion aimed at curbing those who attempted to prevent quick free-kicks was passed by 85% of delegates, with offenders receiving a black card in addition to the ball being moved forward 50 metres as opposed to the current 13.

Black card offences being extended to deliberately holding up an opponent received 94% support while 93% of delegates backed the rule change which will see the ball moved forward a further 50 metres for dissent by players and 13 metres for protests from dugouts.

In addition, the motion calling for team captains to be the only players allowed to question refereeing decisions received 86% support.

The motion proposing the introduction of a stop clock and a half-time and full-time hooter to end play, which have been in use in women's gaelic football for some time, wasn't quite as universally popular among delegates but was nevertheless passed with 74% support.

Motions calling for black cards to be awarded to the 'third man' entering melees and referees to be given great discretion to play advantage beyond the current five-second limit also received strong backing.

The motion providing for linesmen or women, who henceforth will be known as line umpires, to be given the authority to inform referees of foul play was also passed with 97% support.

A full review into how the new rules operated in 2025 will take place late next year with a view to their adoption in an updated rulebook from 1 January, 2026.

Armagh fans, still exultant following their All-Ireland triumph, are unlikely to be overly excited by the prospect of a series of new football rules and their manager Kieran McGeeney has on numerous occasions made clear his opinion that gaelic football has never been in a better condition than it currently is.

But be that as it may, there nevertheless has been a groundswell of opinion that the safety-first option of managers pulling the majority of their players, in some cases en masse, behind the ball has severely affected the entertainment value of gaelic football in recent times.

As hurling has become the poster boy of the GAA in recent years, in contrast football has morphed into a problem child for many hitherto passionate watchers amid the preponderance of a no-risk, short-passing, possession-based game.

Anybody connected with the GAA knows people thoroughly disenchanted with the modern game, which in some cases has led them to almost give up on gaelic football, as they hark back to what they view as the purity of 'catch and kick'.

Thus we have the context of the committee's proposals which were resoundingly supported today.