Sport

Players hope for change: Farrell

GPA chief Dessie Farrell says inter-county players have sent him a clear message that they want the current football Championship structure changed.

There were "numerous issues dealt with" at the organisation's latest summit but most debate of the time was spent speaking about the current Championship structures. "There was definitely a sense in the room that day that what we have in place is broken," said Farrell (pictured). "The great challenge is: how do you fix that? Players have different views on that. But I think there's an appetite for change there." Players appear to be torn on whether or not to keep the provincial Championships. "For a cohort of players, the provincial Championship is very important to them and then for another cohort, they think the provincial Championship is broke and that it needs to move to a Champions League-style structure," continued Farrell. "The question is: can you combine both? And if you do, how does that impact on the club season as well? "There are a lot of sacred cows within the GAA, we all know that. I think there's a challenge there with trying to be innovative and bring about change because there's a reluctance to embrace change in any organisation. The GAA is no different."