New ALL Series

[anfheardubh]

The NFL should be abandoned in favour of playing the Provincial Champs then the  ALL IRELAND STARTS

Championship

Format:
4 groups of 6 counties,
All teams in the group play each other with top 2 from each group going to a quarter final from then on straight knockout as per usual
This method would give every county a decent amount of championship games and if feel more entertaining than what we have
Teams that finish bottom playoff to retain Status , Losers drop to Lower League

The remaining 9/10 counties play in a single league with the top 2 teams each year promoted to All Ireland Series
The  smaller teams would get more game time and be able to develop in order to compete in the All Ireland Series

[Zulu]

You've come to the right GAA board if it's competition formats you want to debate 

I've definitely seen worse suggestions. To be fair there's a lot of merit in your format though anyone which doesn't include teams in the Sam Maguire is probably doomed.

[AZOffaly]

Is this where I come in foaming at the mouth? Oh no, the Provincial championships are preserved, so carry on

[Banter Panther]

Two groups of 16 teams.
Each of the two groups of 16 split into 8 groups of two, leaving 16 groups overall. In these sixteen groups, each team plays each other three times (at home, neutrally, and away).
The top two teams in each of the sixteen groups advance to the championship leaving us with 32 teams overall.
The 32 counties are then drawn into sixteen different pairings, with pairings played over two legs, home and away. The winner of each pairing advances to the Super Championship. The 16 losers also advance. This leaves 32 counties, who will be split into 8 groups of 4.
Each team plays each other twice, with the winners of each group advancing to the All-Ireland series. Here, all teams play home and away, except of Dublin, who play two legs at home. After this round, the rest of the championship is declared null and void, with Dublin being awarded the All-Ireland.

[AZOffaly]

You're trying too hard. Relax, let it come to you rather than chasing it all the time.

[Banter Panther]

Okay. I'm sorry.

[Ball Hopper]

Is this where I come in foaming at the mouth? Oh no, the Provincial championships are preserved, so carry on

Conduct the Provincial Championships before the ALL Series with the proviso that finalists in every province be guaranteed a place in the Championship.

Provincial councils need to look at their format to provide at least two games per county. 

A much smaller regional league will provide early season games - replacing the McKenna/McGrath/FBD/O'Byrne competitions.

The new format to commence on Easter Monday 2016.

[Banter Panther]

Seriously, for all it's shortcomings, I think the Provincial Championships are an engrained and valuable part of why the championship is so special. We've seen Clare win Munster in '92, Leitrim win Connacht in '94, Laois winning Leinster in '03, all wonderful occasions. Tell a Louth supporter that winning Leinster in '10 wouldn't have mattered, of course it did. It gives other counties something to play for. Those victories mentioned were as valuable and talked about as All-Irelands are to Kilkenny, Kerry, Dublin, Tipperary, Cork, Galway. For all it's eccentricities, it's a system that's ultimately part of what sets the GAA apart.

[Banter Panther]

I think it will be changed though. Actually, I have no doubt it will. In all likelihood, you'll see the 32 counties split into groups of four. At the end of the day, money talks. We can gripe, but if we were members of the GAA we'd do the same. It'll take the magic once it happens, but it will ultimately happen.

[AZOffaly]

We are members of the GAA! However I suspect you are correct. It's nearly a certainty that *something* has to change, as the current calendar is a bit of a mess.

[Banter Panther]

We are members of the GAA! However I suspect you are correct. It's nearly a certainty that *something* has to change, as the current calendar is a bit of a mess.

I meant the GAA hierarchy, my apologies

The 32 county set-up is tailor-made for a round robin format, which would actually be easier to organise around club fixtures. The thing is, with each team playing once, and two teams advancing, you'd have 63 games in total, which is only 3 more than the current set-up. Is it altogether more profitable? Is there enough of a case for uprooting tradition? It would possibly lead to more equitable football, but it would uproot a lot of the romance of the GAA.