WESTMEATH MANAGER, JACK Cooney, has delivered the view that the GAA should have an open draw this year.

In an interview with The Westmeath Examiner Cooney said a quickly-run Championship could give the sport a necessary lift after this enforced shutdown.

That would involve scrapping the provincial championships for a season yet Cooney feels it is a sacrifice worth taking.

He said: “This is an opportunity to try something different, something novel, for one year.

“There are a lot of stadiums with good floodlights and with a tighter timeframe, games could be played under lights and that would bring a different atmosphere.

“There might only be a timeframe of six weeks to run off the Championship. In those circumstances, let’s say we had an open draw, 32 teams, 16 teams go one and the losers are given a second chance to get back into it.

“There will be such an appetite for GAA and for sport in general when matches get going again. We take these things for granted. I know our players are looking forward to returning to collective training whenever we are allowed to.”