Former Galway footballer Michael Meehan believes the U21 championship deserves more recognition than it currently receives.
A two-time winner of that All-Ireland competition during his underage career, the Caltra clubman made the point on Off The Ball as he joined us to preview the Eirgrid U21 Connacht Final between Galway and Roscommon.
"It's just not given the standing it probably deserves and it's probably not going to happen unless something happens between minor and U21, if those two merge into one," he said.
Galway have won the U21 All-Ireland title four-times since the seniors won Sam Maguire and Meehan gave his take on the conversion rate from underage to senior football.
"The success at any level is great, but I think at underage level - particularly at minor and U21 - it doesn't always transfer automatically that you're going to get eight or ten starters from your U21 All-Ireland winning team within five years. If you get maybe three to five starters, I'd imagine you're doing quite well," said Meehan, who also looked at the case of the Tribesmen and thinks the most recent U21-winning sides could have a chance of achieving something tangible when they take the step up.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
