FEARS that the GAA would have to find new title sponsors for the National Leagues should be allayed soon with the expectation that Church and General will continue in the role for another year, at least.

There were suggestions after the recent National Hurling League final between Galway and Tipperary which marked the end of the existing sponsorship deal - that the insurance company were considering ending their involvement. But it is believed they are now ready to take up an option to extend the sponsorship period. The extension will be for a minimum of one year but could, in fact, reach another three years.

Following a recent Central Council meeting, it was decided that next year, on a trial basis, the National Hurling League would run in tandem with the championship.

The Munster Council will distribute tickets for Sunday week's Munster championship showdown between All Ireland champions Clare and Limerick at the weekend.

The game is all ticket with a ceiling of 40,000, and according to both counties very few tickets will be available to the general public.

Each county will receive an allocation of 17,000 and even when distributed to the various units of the association, there could be a shortfall in meeting demand. Each county is expected to receive about 2,500 Mackey Stand tickets, where the capacity is around 8,874, reduced by 500 when the five year ticket scheme is taken into account.

The game will start at 4.0 p.m. and will be televised live by RTE.