Longford chairman Pat Cahill believes the county would benefit from a move into the Connacht football championship on an experimental basis.

Cahill's comments come after both GAA president Christy Cooney and Dublin secretary John Costello said the idea of realigning the four provinces into four groups of eight should be considered. And since Longford borders both Roscommon and Leitrim, a move across the Shannon wouldn't be a major inconvenience for them.

"I'm speaking personally here, but I wouldn't be averse to change, if only as an experiment," Cahill said in the Irish Independent.

"We're neighbours with Roscommon and would see ourselves as being on a par with them, but look at how many Connacht finals they have won since Longford won our only Leinster one in 1968.

"And look at how many Connacht finals they have been in. The same goes for Sligo and Leitrim. If the four provinces had the same number of counties, everyone would be in the same boat in terms of when they started. It's something I think should be closely examined.

Cahill believes that if Longford were in the Connacht championship, they would have a strong chance of contesting a provincial final at least once in every decade. They haven't been in the Leinster final since 1968. Tweet

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