A new club hurling championship for teams in Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford is on the cards.
The central fixtures analysis committee of the GAA have recommended a new championship for counties with 10 teams or fewer.
The Irish Independent reports the new championship will include Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford. Along with Louth, Cavan, Fermanagh, Sligo, Tyrone and Monaghan.
The new “tiered” championship would replace the current club championships in each county. The championship would run for five weeks between August and September.
There was outrange last year when the GAA’s CCCC proposed the removal of counties with less than five teams; including Leitrim and Longford from the Allianz hurling league.
However, the proposal created debate about the general strength of hurling in the so-called “weaker northern counties.
There are far too few clubs in too many counties to have meaningful hurling county championships during the club part of the championship season from August to October,” the report suggests.
“It would need funding for the clubs involved, provincial influence on county fixture-makers to make the space and difficult decisions about county championship, which might be held earlier or later in the year. That will allow a meaningful, groups of four, tiered championships to survive and hopefully, in time, thrive, with competitive semi-finals and finals.”
The report has made four recommendations including, the establishment of provincial football reserve champions on a home-and-away basis. While none of the Shannonside region counties have a reserve championship, the competition has grown popularity across the country.
Also recommended is “a minimum number of games in each county, consideration for a return to ‘retention-focused’ U-19 competitions”
Meanwhile, the Central Fixtures Analysis Committee has deemed the split season a “huge success from the perspective of the club and county player.”
