I think this deserves its own thread because I want as much input as possible and for outside of Connacht folk to see what's going on.
Sligo qualified for the Connacht u20 final beating Roscommon on Wednesday. The game was in Markievicz because we last played Roscommon last year at u20 in the Hyde. Connacht at underage has a home and away agreement and at senior but because of attendance issues we play our final at neutral venues at senior.
Mayo beat Leitrim in the other semi-final.
Mayo and Sligo last played in the u20 in 2019 in McHale Park.
So can someone explain to me why the final is fixed for the Centre Of Excellence in Mayo?
A few things -
Its clearly our home game
No player wants to play there in a final
From a health and safety perspective if a huge crowd shows up, how many can it hold?
It favors Mayo and gives them home advantage
They played there in the qtr final
The Connacht council in 2019 changed the rules on the minor after the league to favor Mayo when they were likely to finish 3rd in the group. 2nd place was supposed to get a home semi-final but they changed it back to the home/away agreement when mayo finished 3rd.
Sligo played Galway 3 times in a row away in the knockout part of the minor championship in the noughties when they were a league format.
The rules are always changed to suit certain counties but this blatant disregard for the agreements in place. I think it's scandalous and if I was Sligo I would say Markievicz or nowhere.
Does anyone know what the logic is here or what's going on?
Sligo qualified for the Connacht u20 final beating Roscommon on Wednesday. The game was in Markievicz because we last played Roscommon last year at u20 in the Hyde. Connacht at underage has a home and away agreement and at senior but because of attendance issues we play our final at neutral venues at senior.
Mayo beat Leitrim in the other semi-final.
Mayo and Sligo last played in the u20 in 2019 in McHale Park.
So can someone explain to me why the final is fixed for the Centre Of Excellence in Mayo?
A few things -
Its clearly our home game
No player wants to play there in a final
From a health and safety perspective if a huge crowd shows up, how many can it hold?
It favors Mayo and gives them home advantage
They played there in the qtr final
The Connacht council in 2019 changed the rules on the minor after the league to favor Mayo when they were likely to finish 3rd in the group. 2nd place was supposed to get a home semi-final but they changed it back to the home/away agreement when mayo finished 3rd.
Sligo played Galway 3 times in a row away in the knockout part of the minor championship in the noughties when they were a league format.
The rules are always changed to suit certain counties but this blatant disregard for the agreements in place. I think it's scandalous and if I was Sligo I would say Markievicz or nowhere.
Does anyone know what the logic is here or what's going on?