And Brennan, speaking in Armagh, has indicated that club and county officials throughout the country are in for a shock when figures from a recent detailed sports survey are revealed shortly.

"I believe these will show that, in the 26 counties in particular, soccer is now ahead of GAA in terms of attracting young players and giving them plenty of regular games ," declared Brennan.

The president has made it clear that unless the GAA adheres to streamlined competitive fixtures structures, it could encounter difficulties both in retaining the interest and commitment of current players and in attracting new recruits.

"Much is made of the contribution of county players in both football and hurling and rightly so. But I must emphasise that these players represent only a tiny fraction of the number who play gaelic games overall.

"The vast majority of players will never get the chance to wear the county jersey or grab the headlines but in many cases they are just as committed as the county boys. Unless these players are given regular football and hurling and unless even more efforts are made to bring in new young players, we will find ourselves losing out to other sports," stated Brennan.

For some time now, the GAA has been aware of the growing popularity of rugby within the younger age-group and the contents of the forthcoming report on participation in sport, particularly in relation to soccer, is certain to focus minds even more sharply on this issue.

"I think it is imperative that the GAA should look after its players at all levels. They want to play — that's the important thing. There is a responsibility on officials to ensure that they are given every chance. Most players accept that they will only get the chance to represent their clubs at whatever level but they must be treated with respect. The future of our Association is at stake here, you could say," added Brennan.

With county players due to receive expenses grants for the first time this year, GAA chiefs are now particularly anxious that an 'us and them' division should not ensue and that domestic competitions within the various counties should not be unduly disrupted because of the All Ireland Championships.

The mechanism for the payment of the county players grants has now been finalised following the approval gained at Congress and July 12 has been set as the deadline for the return of all documentation from counties relative to this process.

Croke Park officials and Gaelic Players Association officers are advising county boards and players on the implementation of the grants scheme and a set of documents is being sent to every board.

With the football championship season having been launched yesterday with the matches between Westmeath and Longford and New York and Leitrim, the first matches have now been played in what is a ground-breaking All Ireland campaign for the GAA.