Cork secretary Frank Murphy has revealed that the GAA is considering a radical change of format for the All-Ireland football championship that would give provincial champions a second bite at the cherry. Under the proposed format, the four provincial winners would play off for two All-Ireland semi-final places, while the losing two would play off with the two All-Ireland qualifiers for the remaining two semi-final berths. Under the present format, the four provincial champions qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals where they are joined by four teams from the qualifier series. But if the proposed format is accepted, it would see the number of teams coming through from the qualifiers reduced to two, while the losing provincial champions would be given a second chance. Murphy told the Cork county convention over the weekend that the thinking behind it was that the current system "is weighed in favour" of the qualifier series. "It would mean that the provincial winners would meet stiffer opposition than heretofore. But it's felt that they should be given the extra opportunity of getting to the semi-final by beating one of the qualifier teams. Murphy also told delegates that there was a growing consensus in favour of a trimmed down All-Ireland hurling championship which would limit certain teams to only one second chance. Tweet

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