GPA chief executive Paul Flynn has revealed how inter-county players have received the new Championship structures as well as proposals for a second-tier in Gaelic football.
Flynn was appointed in the role last June and started work in September. He has served on the GPA’s National Executive Committee and as a secretary in recent years.
Writing in the Irish Times, Flynn said there the majority were satisfied with the new competition structure. However, this was heavily weighted towards hurling members who were 90% in favour compared to footballers who were 53% for.
Flynn also stated that "almost 60 per cent of football members surveyed told us they would support a change to a tiered football championship. This represents a significant shift in player opinion from 2016 where squads from Division Four unanimously voted to boycott a proposed “B Championship”."
During the summer, GAA president John Horan said he wanted to see the establishment of a second tier football championship.
"There has been a resistance in the organisation to that but I'm quite sure if we put it together properly we might get a buy-in," Horan told RTÉ Radio 1 following a qualifier draw in late June.
Central Council met last month and approved in principle a competition which would run concurrently with the race for Sam Maguire. A fully-structured proposal would have to be approved by Congress.
Such a structure would require significant work in order to be a success. The now-defunct Tommy Murphy Cup operated as a second-tier competition between 2004 and 2008 and proved unpopular. Earlier this year, a member of the Joe McDonagh winning Carlow hurling side outlined the issues with coverage in an interview with Balls.ie.
