The GAA have announced plans to axe weaker counties from the All Ireland senior football championship.
Under new proposals to be brought to congress in Carlow next month teams playing in Division 4 of the Allianz Football League would be removed from the All Ireland Senior Football Qualifiers.
There are 8 teams in the lowest division of the league. They will face an exit from the Championship if they fail to make it to their respective provincial finals.
If the proposal passes at congress it would see the Championship streamlined next year with qualifying rounds being reduced to 3 instead of the current 4 rounds of qualifiers in the All Ireland series.
The GAA made the following proposal following a meeting of Ard Chomhairle. Below in full is the plan to change the structures of the GAA Football Senior Championship.
(1) All counties will take part in their respective Provincial Championships.
(2) The teams that are placed in Division Four at the conclusion of the National Football League will play in their Provincial Championship only. They will also participate in an All-Ireland Senior ‘B’ Football Championship, which will be played on a straight knock out basis. The winners of the All-Ireland ‘B’ Football Championship will be guaranteed a place in the following year’s All-Ireland Football Qualifier.
(3) The winners of the Provincial Championships will progress directly to the All-Ireland Quarter-finals. The losers of the Provincial Finals will play in Round Three of the All-Ireland Football Qualifiers.
(4) The 16 teams who do not reach the Provincial Final and who are not eligible for the All-Ireland B championship will play in Round One of the All-Ireland Qualifiers. This will be an open draw.
(5) The eight winners of Round One of the All-Ireland Qualifier will play in Round Two.
(6) In Round Three of the All-Ireland Qualifier, the four winners from Round Two will play the four Provincial Final losers.
(7) In the All-Ireland Football Quarter-finals the four Provincial Final winners will play the Round Three winners.
(8) In Rounds One and Two of the All-Ireland Qualifier, where teams from Division Two, Three or Four are drawn against a team from a higher division, the team from the lower Division will automatically have home advantage.
Notes:
(1) In the event of this proposal being accepted, ways of making the All-Ireland Senior B Championship attractive to participating can be considered.
(2) If the winners of the All-Ireland ‘B’ Football Championship do not win promotion from Division Four in the National Football League of the following year, they will be replaced in the All-Ireland ‘B’ Championship by the lowest placed Division Three team (other than the two relegated teams) at the end of that year’s National Football League that has not reached its Provincial Finals.
(3) Where a team(s) from Division Four reaches its Provincial Final, the lowest placed team at the conclusion of the National Football League in Division Three (team that finishes sixth or fifth) that has been eliminated from the Provincial Championship, will play in the All-Ireland ‘B’ Football Championship to ensure a complement of eight teams.
A number of counties will also submit other motions to Congress relating to proposed structural changes to the senior football Championships.
