GAA fans divided over controversial change to Munster football championship as critics urge four counties to ‘boycott'
At a meeting on Thursday night, the provincial council approved a change that will see the two highest ranked counties separated in the semi-final draw.
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A major change has been made to the Munster senior football championship
Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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Critics believe it has been set up to facilitate Kerry and Cork in the Munster final
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
The new seeding system would see the two highest ranked teams from the national league placed on either side of the draw for the following
championship
campaign.
As a result,
A Munster
"For the 2026 Munster Senior Football Championship, Kerry and Cork as the two highest ranking teams in the 2025 Allianz
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The Kingdom and the Rebels have met in the decider four times in the last ten years, the last being when Kerry won 4-22 to 1-9 in 2021.
And critics of the new structure claimed it has been set up to make it a more regular occurence.
One lamented: "Kills the Munster final though doesn't it ? Granted I can see the thought process but I'm not sure"
A second posted: "Clare
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"It's pretty obvious what Munster GAA thinks of them."
A third commented: "More concerned with getting their dream final of Kerry v Cork and the accompanying big gate than developing football in the province.
'Aged like milk on a windowsill in July' - Watch BBC's GAA pundits ALL predict Donegal to beat Kerry
"Shame on those individuals/representatives/counties who voted in favour of this."
On the flip side, some fans backed the decision as potentially leading to better Munster football finals.
One said: "Well done Munster and about time too,hopefully we'll have proper Munster finals now again after the piles of s***e we've had to endure over the past few years"
A second said: ""Unfair this, unfair that". You know what's unfair? Clare had to beat a Tipperary team that finished 5th in Division 4 (29th ranked team in the country!!!) to guarantee entry to Sam Maguire group stage this year."
And a third said: "If teams are ranked into Sam Maguire/Tailteann Cup by league standings then it makes sense to do the same to provincials.
"Wasn't very fair on the 2 teams who got promoted from Div.3 to be pegged back into Tailteann due to lack of Div 1 & 2 teams in Munster Championship"
Kerry have won the Munster title for the last five years in a row and have bested Clare in the last three finals.
Their attempt at six in a row will see them defend their crown as All-Ireland champions, having conquered
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