THE National Football League could be further adjusted to being a competition based on three divisions of 11 teams.
Noel Walsh, who is chairman of the National Football Development Committee set up at last year’s Congress, announced yesterday that a further re-vamp of the NFL is one of many proposals being studied by the body.
This format for this season’s NFL was changed last autumn with a mixed-ability format of four sections of eight teams replacing the divisional structure for one campaign.
Some of these ideas could be introduced for the start of the 1998/99 league as the football committee is required to produce its recommendations for the NFL for this year’s Congress.
“One of the things we are looking at is whether the National Football League should be changed to three divisions of 11 teams.
“That would mean more matches for all the counties and while it mightn’t necessarily go down well with the clubs, it’s just one of the proposals we are examining,” said Walsh yesterday.
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DOWN star Mairin McAleenan has been ruled out of the sport for at least two months after sustaining a broken wrist during Saturday’s All-Ireland Higher Education League semi-final win by St Mary’s against Trinity College.
McAleenan scored 1-6 in the victory but will now miss the final at the end of February.
The injury also means she will miss the Purcell Cup finals, which is a massive setback St Mary’s chances of capturing the title for the first time since 1978.
It is the second such injury she has sustained in less than two years, having broken a bone in her wrist during the 1996 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship final loss to Limerick.
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DERRY CITY football club is to take the FAI National League to court over the Bosman ruling.
In an historic move,
Derry has challenged a decision by 16 clubs in the Republic to prevent them from taking full advantage of the controversial player transfer system.
As the only National League club based outside the Republic, City found itself perfectly placed to take advantage of the Bosman ruling on player transfers.
Under the ruling, players can move to a club in another country for free as soon as the contract with their existing club expires.
But, at a meeting in Dublin last week, 16 of the Republic’s soccer clubs voted against Derry maintaining what they saw as the Bosman advantage.
The FAI subsequently moved to set a price for Derry’s three most recent transfers under the ruling.
Gavin Dykes, James Keddy, Tommy Dunne, Ritchie Purdy were all accrued on a free transfer under the ruling.
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FRANK WARREN flew back from business meetings in the USA last night to thrash out a financial deal for WBO world cruiserweight champion Carl Thompson to agree to defend in Belfast next month.
The 33-year-old Manchester southpaw, who won the championship from Ralf Rocchigiani of Germany in October, has bee rumoured to be holding out for more cash to clash with Irish and Commonwealth titlist Darren Corbett.
