GAA Central Council gives ‘B’ Championship the green light

GAA Central Council has endorsed the motion proposing an All-Ireland B football championship. This will go forward to next month’s annual congress. The new championship will be confined to Division Four counties - as established at the end of the league campaign - and the winners will be allowed participate in the following year’s All-Ireland qualifiers.

These counties won’t however be allowed to enter the qualifiers in the immediate year once they are beaten in their provincial championship unless they reach the provincial final in which case the lowest-ranked Division Three county to have been eliminated from the championship will drop to the B.

At Saturday’s meeting in Croke Park the following motion on the senior inter-county football championship was passed:

(1) All counties will take part in their respective provincial championships.

(2) The teams that are placed in Division Four at the conclusion of the NFL will play in their Provincial Championship only. They will also participate in an All-Ireland senior ‘B’ football championship, which will be played on a straight knock out basis. The winners of the All-Ireland ‘B’ football championship will be guaranteed a place in the following year’s All-Ireland football qualifiers.

(3) The winners of the provincial championships will progress directly to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The losers of the provincial finals will play in round three of the All-Ireland football qualifiers.

(4) The 16 teams who do not reach the provincial final and who are not eligible for the All-Ireland B championship will play in round one of the All-Ireland qualifiers. This will be an open draw.

(5) The eight winners of round one of the All-Ireland qualifier will play in round two.

(6) In round three of the All-Ireland qualifier, the four winners from round two will play the four provincial final losers.

(7) In the All-Ireland football quarter-finals the four provincial final winners will play the round three winners.

(8) In rounds one and two of the All-Ireland qualifiers, where teams from Division Two, Three or Four are drawn against a team from a higher division, the team from the lower division will automatically have home advantage.

The motion was chosen from the three before Central Council. Of these one featured a variation on the current system with counties seeded and the other a round-robin system based on the four provincial championships.

Other motions on the football championship structure are expected to be submitted to congress from the counties.