ANNUAL CONGRESS: THE WICKLOW motion calling for a return to the all-encompassing football qualifier series will require a two-thirds majority in order to be passed at this weekend's GAA Congress.

Although it seems unlikely to gain that necessary level of support, the motion will address one of the few controversial issues outside of the new players' expenses scheme.

The Special Congress of October 2006 implemented the revised football qualifier format, first introduced back in 2001, so that the bottom eight or nine teams in the country, based on league standings immediately prior to the championship, were excluded from the qualifier series, and were instead limited to the Tommy Murphy Cup.

Under this format, the nine teams that end up in Division Four at the end of the current league campaign won't get the so-called "second chance" in the championship - unless they make their provincial final. For obvious reasons, this hasn't gone down well with the counties that now find themselves affected, with Wicklow leading the charge to revert to the original format.

Yet their motion, number 24 at tomorrow afternoon's Congress in Sligo, requires a change in Rule 120 A, which refers to the championship structure, and will therefore require a two-thirds majority to be successful. Essentially, it calls for the original four-round format, leading to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

However, the revised format was passed relatively smoothly in 2006, having been proposed by the Football Competitions Review Task Force, under the chairmanship of now director general Páraic Duffy. At the time, this suggested an unexpected appetite for radical change, with the severest criticism expressed being the change didn't go far enough.

The main rationale behind the change was to strike a better balance between club and county activity, and while Duffy highlighted his task force's recommendation that the championship proposals be deferred until 2008 to allow counties improve their standing in the league, the groundswell of opinion was that the changes should take immediate effect.

"It's unlikely to see how this motion will get the full two-thirds support," said a GAA spokesman. "It's almost like the motion is flawed, because the reason the new format was introduced in the first place was to take out one round of the qualifiers, because of the impact that was having on the playing of club fixtures. To bring it back in would fly in the face of the Special Congress last January (which dealt with player burnout).

"Having said that, if there was a motion calling for the abolishment of the Tommy Murphy Cup, and that all teams went into the qualifiers instead, then that would have a better chance of being successful. But the old format, where teams played in the qualifiers and the Tommy Murphy Cup, meant there were just too many games."

Even if the Wicklow motion is successful, it will be the 2009 championship before the old format can be reintroduced as the GAA's master fixture list for this year has already been approved, and won't be revised at this stage

The first motion up for consideration tomorrow calls for Congress to adopt in principle a further Interim Report and Recommendations of the Rule Book Task Force, subject to consideration of individual sections of the motion contained in the separate booklet, which has now been distributed as part of the Congress material.

Described by the GAA as mainly "housekeeping matters", it will allow the Rule Book Task Force to adopt Central Council decisions on rule interpretation, to adopt changes in rules arising from the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) decisions in 2007, and also to adopt amendments relating to the enforcement of rules.

One example of this, established by the DRA, is that no unit or sub-committee of the association can be challenged by that same unit or sub-committee.

Motion 27, which asks for the All-Ireland hurling final to be brought forward to the third Sunday in August, and the football final to the first Sunday in September, is described by the GAA spokesman as likely to be "too impractical" to be passed, while motion 25, which seeks a more radical revision to the hurling championship format than agreed at last year's Special Congress, is also viewed as a long shot to get the necessary support.

Finally, motion 29 and 30, which is looking to make the wearing of hurling helmets mandatory at all levels from January 1st, 2010, is likely to gain the necessary approval, given it is supported by Kilkenny and also commands the support of the hurling development committee.

MAIN MOTIONS

1Refers to the ongoing work of the Rules Book Task Force and their recommendations for further change. (This is an enabling motion - the full text of changes to the various rules listed were available in a separate booklet in the lead up to Congress)

2The agreed Central Council motion approving the Government scheme as being in keeping with Rule 11

5Provides for attendance at meetings via conference call in certain circumstances

11Asks that former chairmen of county boards be given a vote at county conventions

12Seeks to give specific responsibilities to the two provincial council reps from each county - ie, one to look after CCC matters and one to look after development

13Asks that counties be allowed derogate from the five-year rule for their Provincial and Ard Chomhairle delegates if they wish

14Gives counties the option of dividing their Competitions Control Committee into two separate groupings - one to deal with fixtures and one to deal with discipline.

15Prevents a special congress from overturning a decision of the most recent annual congress

20Makes the result between the two relevant teams the deciding factor where teams finish level on points in league competition. (Currently scoring difference is the primary deciding factor; followed by total score for, then the result between the two teams and finally scoring average)

24Seeks to reintroduce the football qualifier system that pertained before 2007 (ie, no teams participate exclusively in the Tommy Murphy Cup)

25Seeks to introduce a different format for the senior hurling championship

27Asks that the All-Ireland hurling final be brought forward to the third Sunday in August and the football final to the first Sunday in September

29/30Seeks to make helmets mandatory in hurling from January 1st 2010.