Junior football championship unchanged

The junior football clubs succeeded, following a vote, in keeping the junior football championship unchanged for the year ahead.

Westmeath GAA proposed a change for 2026, with the five sole junior clubs on Section ‘A’: St Paul’s, Kilbeggan Shamrocks, Bunbrosna, St Joseph’s and

Ballynacargy.

Section B would consist of: Killucan,The Downs, Athlone, St Loman's Mullingar, Coralstown/Kinnegad, Mullingar Shamrocks and Moate All Whites.

However, the vote went in favour of the junior clubs - 31-21 - meaning the junior football championship will be played on the same basis as 2025. The Competitions Control Committee (CCC) put forward the change to keep the sole junior clubs in the same section, but Bunbrosna’s JP Reynolds argued they would be worse off.

“You are making the big boy bigger and the small boy smaller,” he declared.

Killucan’s Billy Gough noted that three teams out of seven in Section B, versus three teams out of five in Section ‘A’ was unbalanced.

JP Reynolds of Bunbrosna noted it has been two equal groups in former years and the senior or intermediate team in Section ‘A’ would play their junior game after their senior or intermediate match, giving the junior club a fairer chance.

“You are taking quarter-finals off the junior clubs. There are three junior clubs down in Junior 2 at the moment; the team that finishes bottom in Section ‘A’ of the (proposed) Junior championship is at a disadvantage to head to Junior 2. It has total disregard for clubs who are trying to survive. It should be returned to two groups of six, with four teams to qualify for a quarter-final,” he said.

“A team in Section ‘A’ - to win the championship - would play six games; a team in Section ‘B’ would play nine. That’s totally unfair.”

It was agreed that the Junior football championship be voted on separately to the Senior and Intermediate and following the vote, it will be two groups of six, with four quarter-finals.