Momentum swelled behind ‘proposal B’ tonight with a number of counties opting to back the motion at Saturday’s Special Congress.
The ‘League as Championship’ football format got the thumbs up from Cork, Tipperary, Kildare, Meath, Clare and Longford, joining a number of other counties like Westmeath and Offaly that have already indicated that they will also back it.
Elsewhere, rather than mandating their delegates, Laois, Waterford and Kerry have afforded them a free vote on the matter.
But with most, if not all, of the Ulster counties likely to vote against the proposal which would see provincial Championships marginalised, along with the provincial councils themselves, reaching the 60% threshold for it to be passed will still be quite the challenge, particularly when top table votes and the sizeable overseas delegation are factored in.
Former GAA president John Horan spoke in favour of ‘proposal B’ at a meeting with county chairs on Monday night though expressed the wish that it would effectively be withdrawn and tweaked with a view to being introduced in 2023. He also called for ‘proposal A’, which would see the provincial structure remain at the heart of the Championship but with counties moving provinces, to be withdrawn completely.
Horan’s successor Larry McCarthy and GAA director general Tom Ryan are due to speak at a press briefing this afternoon having been notably silent on the football reform debate in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, confusion reigns as to who the next Galway senior hurling manager will be.
Reports emerged this morning that Davy Fitzgerald had got the nod to succeed Shane O’Neill but while the former Waterford, Clare and Wexford boss is in the running, he had not been appointed as of late tonight.
Also, suggestions that he has lined up a backroom team heavily stocked with fellow Clare men are believed to be wide of the mark.
Brian Hanley and Jeffrey Lynskey, who have enjoyed success with Galway underage teams in recent years, are also in the shake-up but while the selection committee was due to choose their man tonight, confirmation of who the new manager is has not yet been forthcoming.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
