THE GAA president, Christy Cooney, has strongly defended the championship structure in response to renewed calls for an open draw, or at least a more balanced format. Talk of it being stale and tired is a common theme at this time every year, but speaking at the launch of the 2010 hurling championship in Dublin yesterday, Cooney claimed there was no real appetite for change.

“Well there is no issue about the hurling championship,” he said. “First of all, there is no pressure, from anyone, that the provincial championship should go. There were no motions on it because there is no desire for it. I don’t see any attempts to see the provincial championship go in my presidency, and I don’t see any better structure either.

“If someone comes forward with a structure that’s going to guarantee us better competition, better standard of play, and better crowds, then we’ll have a look at it. But at the moment there’s no one coming up with that.”

Last week, Derry football manager Damian Cassidy was adamant the time was ripe for an open draw, demonstrating the imbalance by saying his team needs to win three games just to make an Ulster final, whereas a team like Cork only needs to win four games to make an All-Ireland final.

As things stand in the hurling championship, the likes of Kilkenny only need to win three games to make an All-Ireland final, while some other teams would need to win at least five.

“It’s been that way for 125 years,” Cooney responded. “So that imbalance didn’t happen today. But it has worked well. It’s important for all counties to get the chance to win championships, in their own province, or up in Croke Park. And if you ask anyone in Derry if they’d still like to win an Ulster championship I’m sure they’ll tell you yes.

“But I don’t believe the open draw is workable. People talk about home and away games. But how many Cork fans, say, would travel to Donegal? You saw how many travelled to the National Football League final. As it is we have a gigantic game in Donegal this year, against Down. You couldn’t ask for any better. At the end of the day, if we find something better we’ll look at it. But we haven’t found something better.”

The hurling championship structure – which has Galway and Antrim competing in Leinster as part of a three-year experiment – is also here to stay, according to Cooney: “It’s brought some better balance, and Galway this year in particular have a massive incentive now to win Leinster. It may be that we’ll look into Galway and Antrim having some home advantage, because there is some capacity to have home and away situations. I think the Leinster Council will look into that after the three years.”

The prospect of Kilkenny making history by winning five successive All-Ireland hurling titles should, said Cooney, only add to the appeal of the 2010 championship.

“I think everyone wants to knock Kilkenny off their perch. They haven’t been able to do it. They’ve proved without doubt to be one of the best hurling teams in the history of the association. They’re due tremendous credit for that. But I think the gap has closed, that there are a few more teams knocking on their door. Galway, Tipperary, Waterford, and maybe Cork.

“So I definitely think there are more teams capable of winning it this year, and Kilkenny have a big challenge on their hands. It will be a sensational achievement if they pull it off, but I think the best team always comes through in the end, and if that’s Kilkenny then best of luck to them.”