It’s high time the GAA abolished the provincial championships, according to Clare football manager Colm Collins.

Heading into his seventh campaign, Collins is the third longest-serving intercounty football manager in the land and his Banner County side have been paired with Kerry six times in the last six seasons.

“For as long as we keep dancing around the main problem without addressing it, we're doing a serious disservice to the GAA. The provincial championships are holding us back,” he told The Irish Independent.

“They've long since outlived their usefulness, but for some reason there's no desire to grasp the nettle and make the necessary changes. If we keep going like this, we'll lose more players

“We'll have the provincial draws for 2020 next month and while RTÉ will do their best to make them interesting, it's the same old thing year after year, give or take a few different pairings. We're not getting anything like the promotional value we should be getting from the All-Ireland championships.”

Tweet

Most Read Stories