Wexford second county to pull out of provincial club football series

Wexford have emerged as the second county to have no representation in this year’s provincial club football series due to a backlog of games.

The Irish Examiner yesterday revealed the Tipperary football champions will be unable to fulfil the Munster quarter-final fixture against Kerry representatives on the weekend of November 8/9, and a leading Wexford official has confirmed their senior competition will not be finished in time for the winners to compete in the Leinster campaign.

The Wexford representatives are pencilled in to meet the Laois champions on Sunday, November 2. The Leinster Council have agreed to postpone the fixture by one week, subject to approval from the other 10 counties, but Wexford chiefs believe it will prove insufficient leeway.

The quarter-finals of the Wexford football championship are down for decision tomorrow and Sunday, the semi-finals not taking place until October 26 so to avoid a clash with next weekend’s hurling decider.

St Anne’s Rathangan and Shelmaliers contest the hurling final, with both teams still involved in the football shake-up.

The earliest the football decider is expected to be played is November 9 as the board are keen to afford the involved clubs a fortnight’s rest prior to the game.

News of Wexford’s withdrawal casts further doubt on the proposal of the Football Review Committee, endorsed by Director General Páraic Duffy, to complete the All-Ireland club championships in the calendar year.

Wexford’s intermediate and junior football champions will both compete in the Leinster series.