'Change is good' - Ryan McHugh excited by 'Green' proposal

Donegal's Ryan McHugh has backed the 'Green Proposal' reform of the All-Ireland Football Championship, indicating that his view that "change is a good thing" and a revamp has been needed.

The Green Proposal goes before Congress next month and would come into operation from 2023 onwards if ratified.

It would leave the basic structure of the current GAA calendar unchanged, instead creating an All-Ireland round robin system comprising of four groups of four, consisting of the eight provincial finalists plus the top eight placed teams in the league who didn't qualify via the provincial route.

Speaking at the Allianz Football League launch, two-time All-Star McHugh said he was in favour of the proposed restructure.

"Like everything, there's pros and cons but I think change is a good thing," he said.

"I am in favour of change and I do think that something has to be done and I'm delighted that the GAA are looking at it.

"Time will tell how it works out but as I said, change can be a good thing and I think it's massive.

"As a player, what you want to be doing is playing games and with the new proposal you're literally going to be playing games every week which is great and that's what you want to do.

"So I'm looking forward to it. I'm not really looking ahead too far yet, I'm looking forward to this year but this time next year, I really will be excited for it."

On the possibility that the proposals could mean too many games, in light of the continued existence of the provincial championships coupled with the league becoming more important due to its impact on the road to Sam Maguire, McHugh noted a recent conversation with his father, former 1992 All-Ireland winner Martin, in which they tallied up the potential number of matches that it