Mayo Football League committee stand down as Connacht FA steps in
All members of the Mayo Football League (MFL) management committee voluntarily stood down following a meeting last night.
The Connacht FA has now assumed control of the league until an EGM is held in the coming weeks.
The dramatic development follows a period of growing internal tension within the league, which came to a head at the MFL AGM held just five weeks ago.
While the league had been operating as normal up to that point, sources have described the AGM as exposing deep divisions within the league committee.
Particularly involving members of the league who are members of Mayo FC and those who remain solely as members of the league committee.
According to one source, the past year was viewed by many as an unproductive one for the outgoing management committee.
Issues aired at the AGM included dissatisfaction around league administration matters which added to an already fraught atmosphere.
“The league looked vulnerable amongst itself,” a source said.
“It was the first time clubs had ever seen the committee turn on each other in that way.”
The ongoing talks involving Mayo FC and the league is also understood to have compounded matters.
Sources suggest that a group of five committee members were perceived as operating as a bloc across both the league and Mayo FC, leaving others feeling excluded.
This ultimately led to a push to remove FC-affiliated members from the league committee, a move that was met with significant resistance and resulted in what has been described as “bad blood” at committee level.
The situation prompted intervention, with senior official John Byrne attending a crisis meeting at the Castlecourt Hotel in Wesport last night.
That meeting is understood to have lasted over two hours but failed to yield a resolution.
Subsequently, the decision to voluntarily disband the management committee in its entirety was made last night.
Under the interim arrangements, the Connacht FA will oversee the running of the Mayo Football League until an EGM is convened, expected within the next three weeks, at which point clubs will be invited to nominate candidates for a new committee.
The fallout places several upcoming events in serious doubt, including the league’s annual dinner dance and awards, pre-season club friendlies and the planned start of the new Mayo Football League season (February 15 and 16).
“There are huge questions now,” a source added.
“Anyone can put their name forward at the EGM through their club, but if people come in who won’t work together, the tensions that exist now will only continue.”
The Connacht FA were contacted for comment but no response is yet to be forthcoming.
Addition reporting can be found here