Down club Saval have put forward a motion for the county to remove its football and hurling teams from the National Leagues in protest at Allianz’s continued sponsorship of the competitions. Last month, the GAA’s Management Committee voted to retain Allianz as the league sponsors following a review by its ethics and integrity commission. The newspaper report says Saval “vehemently disagrees” with the findings of the ethics and integrity commission. Two other counties, Dublin and Tipperary, were due to debate a similar motion but for technical reasons it was ruled out of order. Down’s leading forward Pat Havern hails from Saval and the county are strongly expected to make a quick return to Division 2.

Source: Irish Examiner January 08, 2026 21:30 UTC