Jarlath Burns, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Playing Rules, is excited about the potential of the restructured All Ireland Football Championship, which will be brought in on an experimental basis between 2018 and 2020.

Former Armagh midfielder Burns was one of the delegates, who spoke passionately in favour of the new changes before the vote. "Definitely I think it is a positive that people see the value in this,” Burns said to GAA.ie. “We know that with the delegates that you have to be reasonable with what you can get passed.

“They want to keep the Provincial Championships, that is important to them, and they don't want a B Championship. You have to respect the right of Congress to make those decisions.

“Within that structure you have to look at change that will be good and we feel that this was the best change we could get, a Round Robin at Quarter-Final stage to get more games within a shorter time period.

“Going along with that, doing away with replays and pulling the All Ireland Finals back gives more times for club games. What I would say to people is to allow this three year time period before you judge it. Don't be judging it before a ball is kicked.”

Burns is optimistic about the fact that more high profile Championship games will take place. “We shouldn't in any way be apologetic for wanting the top teams to be playing on the big days on the best fields. We shouldn't be apologising for that.

“A Championship structure should aim to achieve that. I remember in 1977, Armagh got to an All Ireland Final, we loved it, but we were beaten by 12 points. Kerry and Dublin had played in an All Ireland Semi-Final, that was the All Ireland Final. That is a wrong system.

“That isn't the way it should be. Our biggest games, our biggest days should be competed by the best teams. That isn't elitist, it is the reality of what Championship should function for.

“The League is there to incrementally improve teams, who want to do so. Many teams like Cavan, who are now playing in Division One, the likes of Kildare, Clare, and Tipperary, have used all of that to help them in the Championship. It gives them a chance.

“I'm delighted, I'm not estatic - it may or may not be a success, but it is good to try things out. We should never be an Association that becomes stagnant - that we aren't prepared to try something out. We aren't radical, this is only the second change in 100 years, we aren't tinkering.”