Bryan Sheehan says teams are now training 'athletes, not footballers'

Former Kerry footballer Bryan Sheehan has backed rumoured changes to scoring in football.

The former Kerry captain was speaking as discussions continue as to how the game should be changed, with the idea of added points for scoring from distance being speculated.

The Football Review Committee is getting the views of the provincial councils, with any rule enhancements to be ready for a trial period by the start of the 2025 season.

The committee are proposing that two points be awarded for a kick between the posts from either on or beyond an arc that would be marked about a quarter of the way out the field.

Sheehan agreed with this idea, as he says it will encourage teams not to defend as deep, and will lead to players shooting from distance.

"I think it is a good idea as it will encourage players to kick the ball over the bar. At the moment, if I am being honest, we are training athletes to play football, rather than footballers to play football.

"What is happening is we have athletes who can cover so much ground, hand pass the ball all day, get up and down and do tackles and turnovers.

"If you look at inter-county football, how many footballers can kick the ball over the bar from 35, 40 yards. There is only a handful of players I can think of that can do it on a consistent basis.

"The way football is going at the moment it is so defensive, so if you can kick the ball from 40 yards, you are just bypassing that traffic."

Sheehan, who won five All-Ireland titles with Kerry, raised concern of Kerry's form ahead of this weekend's game against Meath.

After a mixed league campaign, Kerry retained their Munster title, despite the best efforts of Clare and Louth.

While the start of the All-Ireland series got underway with a