Sean Kelly: Maintaining the status quo would fail GAA's greatest asset - the players

Radical change is needed regarding how we go about structuring competitive fixtures across the calendar year. 

David Tubridy after Clare were hammered 3-22 to 1-11 by Kerry in the Munster SFC this summer. Option B provides the majority of counties with a fair and more balanced playing field. Picture: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

There is no real off-season for the GAA, for there is always something exciting or controversial happening somewhere. As the Special Congress gathers this afternoon, many are waiting with bated breath ahead of one of the most highly anticipated motions to be debated at Congress in the Gaelic football championship’s long and distinguished history.

We have arrived at this juncture at a time when imbalance in the game and mismatches between counties within provincial championships have become all too familiar. It was only last year, in their semi-final victory en route to lifting the JJ Nestor Cup, that Mayo defeated Leitrim by 24 points in Castlebar, while in the 2019 Munster championship, Cork overturned Limerick on a scoreline of 3-18 to 0-6.