Liam Mulvihill, the director general of the GAA, concedes the possibility of top-level discussion on the adoption of the back-door system in football.

"It's likely that it's going to be discussed, but I personally would see it as being a little bit away," he said yesterday at the reception in the Burlington hotel. "I can see changes in the football structure but I don't think a back door will come in football. I would foresee changes, however.

"In any competition you play to your strengths and I think there is a better balance in football between the provinces. So I don't think the back-door idea would work as well in football."

Mulvihill also conceded the possibility of a play-off series for All-Ireland honours between the eight finalists in the provinces. Another option would be for the four teams that win their provincial finals to play off for the right to reach the final.

He said a disadvantage of the present system was the luck of the draw. You could be lucky or unlucky with whom you meet in the All-Ireland semi-finals. "The overall comment I would make in this would be that the success of the hurling experiment will lead people to looking at some experimentation in football, but I don't think it will lead to what has been done in hurling."

The format for the annual GOAL challenge has been changed. Galway, the All-Ireland champions, will meet Mayo instead of a Rest of Ireland selection in Tuam at 5.30 p.m. tomorrow.

Mayo: J Madden; K Mortimer, P Holmes, F Costello; D Heaney, J Nallen, G Morley; P Fallon, L McHale; M Sheridan, K O'Neill, D Nestor; C McDonald, J Casey, G Brady.