Seán Kelly reiterates hopes for 16-county intermediate All-Ireland

Former GAA president Seán Kelly maintains that a 16-county intermediate All-Ireland championship is the way forward for inter-county Gaelic football.

Ahead of Central Council’s vote tomorrow on whether to propose a motion to change the competition, Kelly has argued again for the introduction of a second-tier All-Ireland, as he proposed in this newspaper almost four years ago.

While retaining the provincial championships, Kelly calls for 16 teams, comprising the eight provincial finalists and the other eight based on their league standings, to then enter a knock-out open draw All-Ireland senior championship. Based on an identical structure, the other 16 compete for an intermediate title. After year one, the previous year’s intermediate finalists qualify for the senior championship along with the six best league finishers who haven’t reached their provincial final.