Dublin ladies football manager Mick Bohan believes that the 2020 Championships should be scrapped.
Bohan, who was gearing his all-conquering side up for a four-in-a-row All-Ireland tilt this year, says it’s the “elephant in the room”, with Gaelic games’ governing bodies not in a position to quarantine players and a coronavirus vaccine still some way off.
GAA president John Horan has said that he can’t see games resuming while social distancing remains a requirement and though Bohan’s team are governed by the LGFA, there would be broad alignment between the sister organisations on this issue.
He said: “If everyone was kept in a safe environment and they weren’t being released from that, I think that’s feasible (but) I don’t think our games were set up for that.
“We certainly don’t have the finances capable of carrying that out.
“I think the brave call at this stage… unless there’s a vaccine to be found and people are saying about the finance that’s going into it but still, the steps that need to be taken on that between finding it and getting it endorsed and whatever else are just going to be certainly beyond the timescale that we have to play with.
“So, in my opinion, and it doesn’t sit well with me even saying it, but I think from the point of releasing pressure on everybody, that this thing has to go for 2020,” he told 2fm’s Game On.
In the event of any inter-county Championships being staged in 2020, they will be played on a knockout basis at the back end of the year, something which doesn’t enthuse Bohan, who also coached the Dublin men’s team to All-Ireland glory in 2013.
“Our games were set up as social outlet for people. I’m hugely concerned if it goes to October, all of a sudden there is a scramble for grounds, for floodlit pitches and the weather turns bad and we find ourselves in all kinds of difficulty.”
He added: “I’d hate to see the competition just put on for the sake of a few games, I don’t see the benefit in that.
“My opinion would be to kick for touch altogether until the new season if that’s the case. That’s not what we want, but the competition should be run properly over time.”
