Don’t leave Division 3 champions in limbo about All-Ireland spot – Connacht Council CEO John Prenty

Speaking at the launch of the province’s football championship, Connacht Council CEO John Prenty believes it is unfair that the winners of Saturday’s Down/Westmeath decider will be left in limbo, still uncertain if they will end up in the Sam Maguire round-robin or the Tailteann Cup.

But he hinted that tweaks to the new SFC structure, now in year two, will be made when it comes up for review.

Highlighting Down’s unbeaten run in Division 3 (six wins and one draw), Prenty added: “There is no guarantee that they will win the cup. I personally think that when you are top of the league, you should be league champions.”

On the issue that Division 3 winners might still not make the Sam Maguire cut, he added: “That’s a tweak that could take place when the split season is reviewed the next time.

“The difficulty with the championship at the minute is that there are a number of counties who don’t know if they are in the Sam Maguire or not, even though the league is over. They will know pretty quickly in the middle of April, but they don’t currently – and I think that can be tweaked.

“I think Down or Westmeath, if they win Division 3, should not be waiting for a guarantee from the provincials.”

Another change he has previously touted is direct access to the SFC quarter-finals for provincial champions.

The Connacht chief obviously has skin in the game, but he reckoned: “When people look at it after this year, there is a better chance of getting support than when I said it last year. It (the structure) is going to be tweaked anyway after a three-year cycle.

“In my opinion, there has to be a benefit to winning your provincial championship. I know my good friend, Colm O’Rourke, wants to play the provincial championships on St Stephen’s Day or one of those days early on in the year.”

Citing their impressive facilities at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Prenty stressed: “This place was put here by the provincial championships. Almost immediately, if there were no provincial championships, there would be no finance out of it if you have it in January. You mightn’t even have a pitch in January. Then, the provinces become irrelevant.

“So if there is talk of changing provincial championships, the first discussion that has to take place is the funding mechanism for the association.

“It is not only a financial matter,” he added. “You talk to the five counties here today, I doubt if any player said they didn’t want to win the Connacht Championship.”

Meanwhile, Prenty has called on the Government to stump up funding to help make full integration of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association a feasible reality at the club coalface. Citing the pressure that integration will place on playing facilities, he warned: “Look, it’s going to be a huge problem. If you go to any of our clubs and go to our dressing rooms, we have no facilities suitable for today. When the ladies come into our association, they will expect the same consideration as the men, but we have no toilet facilities or shower facilities that I know of in a club setting, we just don’t have it. Twenty girls in a room are not going to accept that and they are right.”

On the basis that Government requirements steered the GAA towards having 40pc female representation on its Management Committee, the Mayo man added: “I think they have a huge responsibility when this comes in to fund our association in a way that will accommodate it (integration), because by 2027, we just cannot manage on our own resources without major help with club facilities alone.”