8 Team Meath Championship

I have just read the proposal for this. I think its a terrible idea and will have the opposite effect and damage our club championship. Every Senior club has the right to compete for a Keegan cup and selling a chance to win a Senior 2 cup won't wash with players. It will in fact give lads a reason to just go travelling for the summer if they are not competing for a Keegan cup. We are too big of a football county to only have 8 clubs competing in our championship. The comparison made with Dublin isn't comparable as yes Dublin have a Senior 2 championship but they have 16 clubs in their Senior 1 championship. We have a brilliant championship despite what some people spin and it needs to be protected. I really hope common sense will prevail on this one.

Northroyal55 (Meath) - Posts: 33 - 11/11/2026 07:41:57    2700024

There is clearly two tiers in senior championship with many hammerings in group stages. Meath senior clubs haven't been competitive in Leinster so change required. Perhaps reduce to 12 rather than 8. Keep intermediate at 16 and increase Junior to 13. Junior has too few teams in it and not enough games.

winatallcost (Meath) - Posts: 1084 - 11/11/2026 10:08:34    2700033

GoalsWinGames (Meath) - Posts: 330 - 11/11/2026 10:31:38    2700042

Give credit to Meath GAA for trying to improve the Senior Championship but all the evidence suggests this proposal could very well do the very opposite to what they are hoping to achieve and should be voted down.
If the rationale they set out as the reasons for the proposed changes is scrutinised in any detail, it is very obvious that when this years (and the last few years) senior championship are analysed that the evidence clearly shows that games between the top eight senior teams (QF's, SF's & Final) have been consistently less competitive and more one sided than the group games involving all 16 senior teams.
Even in the final this year there was a winning margin of 10 points.
There have been one sided games in the group stages but there have been consistently more one sided games among the top eight teams in the play-offs the last few years.
Of the seven games this year (QF's, SF's & Final) involving the top eight teams, three of those seven games were one sided with winning margins of 10 points or more.
That meant 43% of those games involving the top eight teams playing against each other in the Senior Championship knockout games were one sided.
Of the 24 senior championship group games this year, eight of those games were one sided with winning margins of 10 points or more. That meant 33% of those group games involving all sixteen senior teams playing against each other were one sided.
So in reality, the group games involving all sixteen teams in the senior championship were less one-sided by11% compared to the play-off games between the top eight senior teams.
In this year's senior championship there were four senior teams who won no group games and two of those teams were beaten by 14 points and more in at least one or two games, and perhaps that gave the perception that games in general in the group stages were one-sided.
If those two teams were not in this year's championship, the number of one sided group games would have been reduced by 50%.
Instead of what they are claiming "Limits embarrassing mismatches" and "Improve the quality and competitiveness of the Meath Senior Championship", these new proposals actually increase the chances of "embarrassing mismatches" in Senior A and reduce the competitiveness.
Take Gael Colmcille for example this year, Gael Colmcille although they did not make the quarterfinals, were the fifth best performing team in the senior championship group stages only just losing out on slim score difference (to Dunshaughlin who won the senior championship two years previously), otherwise Dunshaughlin my own club would be playing Senior B.
Under the proposed new senior A/B format, Gael Colmcille will be playing down in Senior B, which would be effectively relegating a strong senior team into a lower grade.
Gael Colmcille (who won two of their group games including beating a team who contested this year's senior final) will be going down to Senior B ahead of a team who only won one group game (in what was considered an easier group).
Although a bit more complicated, reducing the senior championship to 12 teams would be a more appropriate means of dealing with the issue of uncompetitiveness.
Although the Senior A and Senior B proposal is an easy way to try and address issues it is clearly not the answer.

madmeath (Meath) - Posts: 121 - 11/11/2026 12:05:52    2700050

In the last 5 years ..
We have had 8 different clubs make SFC semi finals.
Only one intermediate champion didn't survive the following year.

This is about revenue for the county board and nothing else. They are completely devaluing our intermediate championship and putting 8 senior teams into purgatory.

If this was about playing standards they would relegate 4 teams at each grade.

mlc800 (Meath) - Posts: 75 - 11/11/2026 12:08:43    2700052

I think it is a terrible idea.
If you want to have 8 teams in the senior championship , that is fine.
The next competition is the intermediate grade and so on.
Calling it Senior 2 or whatever they want to call it is nonsense.
Kerry have only 8 teams in senior and then it goes to intermediate after that, none of this senior 2 nonsense.
This helps Kerry teams in Intermediate and Junior All Ireland competition.
Winning a senior 2 competition and then not competing in Leinster is ridiculous.

i think a better idea would be to reduce the senior to 12 teams and then an intermediate with 16 teams for now.

Maestro (Meath) - Posts: 616 - 11/11/2026 13:46:03    2700075

Something has to change, lack of competitive edge to Senior championship this year. There still are a few clubs that are over valuing the importance of "Senior" status. Every club should feel that success is attainable, take the Cille's first example, not a hope of winning a keegan but a realistic chance of winning Senior 2, promoted club from intermediate have a chance to establish themselves at Senior 2, next year championship will be ferocious with no more meaningless games. Only in last few years clubs voted against seeding in SFC (Don/Ash included) , this makes no sense as seeding has benefits for all with balanced groups as opposed to groups of death or the groups of bottom tier teams who are then whipping boys come knock outs

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1527 - 11/11/2026 15:00:29    2700093