Dessie Farrell admits the GPA will have to win over the provincial councils if their plans to revamp the football championship are to come to fruition.
Among the proposals put forward by the players' body are scrapping the qualifier system and replacing it with eight groups of four, as well as condensing the provincial championships into a much tighter timeframe.
"There are numerous sacred cows that will have to be tackled and challenged," the GPA chief exeuctive acknowledged yesterday.
"It is the elephant in the room how the provincial councils are going to react or respond to any proposal submitted. There will undoubtedly be challenges there. I would be appealing to people's better judgment and common sense.
"There is no downside unless the provincial authorities feel their control is being eroded slightly. Because it won't impact on funding and that is always a big issue. If anything, funding levels will be enhanced. This will be more to do with control. They are free to run those competitions as they see fit, but what we are saying is that they have to be condensed into a period of time for the overall programme to work.
"What we would love to see is for the GAA to take a bold step, don't tweak around the edges and do something meaningful. You are still going to have your National League, you are still going to have your provincial championships and you are still going to have an All-Ireland winner at the end of the year.
"If it doesn't work out at the end of two-years, it is no huge, huge loss. But by being courageous, you could come across something that is quite powerful and has a profound and positive impact on the game."
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