Liam Mulvihill has called for a debate on the possible amalgamation of inter-county teams. The GAA's director general raises the issue in his report to the association's annual congress, to be held in Galway next month. His remarks arise from considerations of the imbalances inherent in the current county system.

"I believe that all our units should have a reasonable chance of being successful at least once every 20 years but if we continue to allow the administration of our games to be governed in accordance with the old local authority boundaries we will be in danger of losing some of the unsuccessful units in the longer term."

Pointing out that unsuccessful counties tend to be those with small populations, Mulvihill set out a number of options for consideration. The one he most favoured as having "the best chance of success from a theoretical point of view" was the "amalgamation of smaller county units for inter-county games. "Amalgamation at club/parish level is not uncommon where local loyalties are stronger than at county level. I am well aware, however, that it would not be well received in the counties concerned. Ideally, the whole structure of the counties would have to be amalgamated."

In response to questions, he added that the idea of rearranging the provincial system to provide four regions of eight teams was worth considering.

Other options listed were:

i) A more liberal transfer system between counties.

ii) The allocation of a specific area in the well-populated eastern region of the country to each of a number of designated counties together with the freedom to recruit from that area regardless of family ties (providing the player isn't required by the county in question).

iii) Rationalising very large counties to provide more uniform population size.

iv) Re-aligning county units as was done in England some years ago.

v) Revert to the 19th century practice of basing the All-Ireland on club competition.

Whereas he did not suggest that this problem be addressed immediately, he stated that he would "like to see some focus on this item in addition to the concentration on the structure of the competitions themselves".

There were also strong suggestions that the GAA might feel entitled, in the light of the Stadium Ireland proposals, to further government support in respect of the redevelopment of Croke Park. Referring to "a certain imbalance" created by the government scheme, the report goes on:

"The provision of a National Stadium will save other organisations the expenditure of huge sums on providing their own facilities which they will be able to invest in posing a greater threat to us on the ground."

Commenting on the report, he added: "We didn't foresee that as well as giving a venue to rival organisations and the saving of capital expenditure that entails, they might be in a position to raise considerable sums of money through the sale of corporate ticket packages . . .

"By comparison the GAA does not have the option of abandoning Croke Park as it has already invested almost £80 million in the stadium already and it will have spent nearly £140 million before the project is completed."

Some of the reports strongest language was reserved for the figures highlighted by the Club Fixtures Workgroup. He described as "shameful neglect" the paltry number of matches guaranteed club players.

"I don't think any group of club players would be criticised for asking for a minimum of 20 games to be provided reasonably well spread over the competitive season. The reality as pointed out by the report is that only one of the counties (Down) makes such provision while there is the shameful provision of 12 games or less in half of the counties. In fact the Work Group found that 27 per cent of our players are getting less than 10 games every year."

Although precluded from making a comment on the Football Development Committee proposals going before Congress, Mulvihill did welcome the focus provided by the debate but entered a caveat. " . . .but we need to be careful that we don't do or say anything which will diminish the fundamental strength of the association or its championship structure which is the bedrock on which our success has been founded."