Munster Council chairman Sean Walsh has resisted calls for the abolition of the provincial championships after all four provincial football champions were eliminated from the All-Ireland race over the weekend.

Deprived of a second chance, Tyrone, Kerry, Meath and Roscommon were all left on the championship scrap-heap, meaning that for the first time since the All-Ireland qualifier system was introduced in 2001, there will be no senior provincial champion competing in the All-Ireland semi-finals.

But speaking to the Irish Examiner, Walsh insisted that doing away with the provincial structures will not solve the problem.

"There can be no knee-jerk reaction. It's the first time it has happened since the backdoor system came in that all of the champions are gone. The provinces have served us well," the Kerry native said.

"People might say it's just a traditionalist viewpoint but for crowds, atmosphere and excitement they have a big role to play. Look at what happened in Connacht this year, do people want to take away the type of celebrations we saw with Roscommon winning?"

Walsh is also adamant the introduction of an open draw system will not solve the problem of sparse crowds and low-key atmospheres characterising the majority of early provincial championship games.

"If you go with an open draw, it will decimate the crowds. The only time that you'll have strong attendances will be the concluding stages of the championship in Croke Park. Look at the Munster final this year in Killarney, it was an excellent game and one of the best in this year's championship with a great attendance.

"What would you replace that with in an open draw? You'd end up with games like Kerry v Donegal in the middle of summer in Galway, played in front of a few thousand people with no atmosphere." Tweet

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