SECONDARY CHAMPIONSHIP: HOW IT WOULD WORK

OPTION ONE

Play provincial championships as normal. Division 3 and 4 teams, who didn’t reach a provincial final, would enter a Tier 2 championship instead of the All-Ireland qualifiers. More often than not, it would involve 16 counties, although not this year as Fermanagh (Division 3) and Laois (Division 4) reached the Ulster and Leinster finals respectively.

The Tier 2 campaign would run on a straight knock-out, with the semifinals and final played in Croke Park as curtain-raisers to their Sam Maguire Cup equivalents.

That would ensure that Tier 2 counties, rather than minors, would be part of the big days.

If it applied this year the following 14 counties would have been in the secondary championship: Armagh, Longford, Westmeath, Sligo, Derry, Offaly, Wexford, Carlow, Antrim, Limerick, Leitrim, London, Wicklow, Waterford.

OPTION 2

Same as above but restrict Tier 2 championship to 12 counties (bottom four in Division 3 and the eight in Division 4). Armagh, Fermanagh, Longford and Westmeath filled the top four places in Division 3 this year and would remain in the qualifiers rather than play in Tier 2.

ISSUES ARISING

If the secondary championship were comprised of 16 counties, which two counties involved in relegation/promotion in Divisions 2 and 3 would play in Tier 2 and which two would enter the qualifiers?

Down and Louth were relegated from Division 2 this year while Armagh and Fermanagh were promoted from Division 3.

Also, would the Tier 2 winners be entitled to enter the following year’s qualifiers, even if they were still in Division 3 and 4?

Allowing the Tier 2 winners to re-enter the All-Ireland race in the same season is also a possibility but that would rule out staging the semi-finals/finals with their All-Ireland equivalents.

IMPACT ON ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIP

With 16 counties (most years) in Tier 2, only two rounds of qualifiers would be required.