Kelly tables football revamp

Former GAA President Sean Kelly has tabled a radical revamp of the national league and All-Ireland Football Championship, suggesting the game “needs two championships”, and proposes 16 teams fight it out for the Sam Maguire Cup after the provincial championships.

Kelly’s plan, which he unveils in an article in today’s Irish Examiner, sees the leagues and the provincial championships as the basis for qualification for a 16-team All-Ireland series. He believes the proposal merits examination and deals with a lot of the problems facing football.

“I am proposing a format that will restore the status of the provincial championships, will strengthen the national league and make the All-Ireland both a better and fairer spectacle for all.