Ulster GAA secretary Brian McAvoy has suggested the Ulster SFC preliminary round should be seeded.

In his report to next Friday's Ulster Convention in Ballybofey, McAvoy believes it's unfair that some teams have found themselves in the preliminary round more than others. Donegal's participation in the preliminary round in 2018 will be their fourth this decade compared to Monaghan, Down and Derry who have been there once in the same period. Cavan have been there three times and Antrim, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone twice since 2010.

"I had occasion to attend my first All Ireland Championship draw back in October and one thing that struck me was that Ulster was the only province that does not have some form of 'conditions' attached to their draw," he writes. 

There is seeding in both Leinster and Munster, while in Connaught the teams which play London and New York are decided on a rotational basis. In Leinster the semi-finalists from the previous year are excluded from the First Round draw and in Munster Cork and Kerry cannot meet before the semi-final stage. Ulster therefore is the only truly 'open draw' championship and this has served us well over many years.

"But it also places a great emphasis on 'luck' and some counties have been 'luckier' than others. It has been well documented that for 17 consecutive years Down were drawn away in the First Round of the Ulster Championship, while now Antrim have not been drawn at home since 2010. Given the relatively competitive nature of the Ulster Championship any form of seeding would be impractical and in any event it's not an avenue that I have any desire to pursue. Nor should we be proscriptive about home and away games, though they can lead to a degree of 'unfairness' as highlighted by the examples referred to above.

"There is, however, one area where some level of equilibrium could be contemplated. It is well known that the track record of teams that play in the Preliminary Round of the Ulster Championship is not impressive when it comes to winning the title, though Donegal did win the All-Ireland from that starting position in 2012.

"It is therefore an advantage to avoid the Preliminary Round. While every Ulster county has played in the Preliminary Round since the millennium, some have been more 'unfortunate' than others. This year, for example, will see Cavan's seventh appearance since 2000, while Derry have appeared just twice.

"I believe that there is merit in introducing a scenario whereby a team that is drawn to play in the Preliminary Round in a given year should be exempt for a period of time from playing in it again.An exemption for two or three years would be reasonable, though there would be potential for extending this to four years if there was the consensus to do so.

"I certainly believe that this is something that merits further debate."

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