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14th January 2026
11:28am GMT
It is expected that the GAA Congress will vote to remove the All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals when they meet in February.
This will mean two more quarter-finals and and four teams qualifying from both Munster and Leinster, instead of the current three.
Among the supporters of the extra side are Galway chairman Paul Bellew, Wexford star Lee Chin and Waterford manager Peter Queally.
However, Munster GAA CEO Kieran Leddy is totally against the idea, arguing that a dilution in the jeopardy of the Munster SHC will weaken the competition.
According to the Irish Examiner, the gate receipts from the 2025 Munster SHC were a record €8.381m, a figure which Leddy thinks will decrease with a less exciting tournament.
He said: “This suggestion (four teams qualifying for the All-Ireland knock-out stages) will do far more harm than good to the profile of hurling.
“While the championship would gain two quarter-finals with this format, the round-robins would become meaningless, with 10 games being played to eliminate one team.
“Therefore, we would lose far more big occasions than the two additional quarter-finals that we would gain. The provincial senior hurling championship would become more like a warm-up league than a championship.
“We must stop thinking that our senior championships are there to develop teams. They are there to pit the best teams against each other and to decide who the best team in the country is.
“It is the jeopardy of the current format that gives the competition the excitement and anticipation it has, coupled with the success of Munster counties in the All-Ireland championship.
“We saw in the senior football championship what happened when three teams progressed from a group of four. Too many games become meaningless and supporters lose interest.
“Does a team deserve to remain in senior championship if they win one of four games? I don’t think so and this is the scenario we face if four teams progress from a group of five.”
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