Monaghan and Cavan have become the latest Ulster counties to endorse the deletion of Rule 21 at this Saturday's special GAA congress. The decisions were taken at meetings in Castleblaney and Cavan last night. No details of the voting were disclosed but it is believed the motions for change were carried by substantial majorities in each case.

Although the counties now become the second and third in Ulster, after Donegal last week, to vote for repeal, the results will not come as a great surprise. GAA president Sean McCague is from Monaghan and the county was expected to support his initiative to hold a special congress.

Cavan came close to supporting change three years ago but the vote was lost on a casting vote. The two results mean that unlike 1998 when the Ulster counties opposed abolition by 9-0, the margin this time around will be no greater than 6-3, which will lift the chances of the proposal for change being passed. At the same meeting in Cavan, it was announced that Matt Kerrigan would take charge of the county's senior footballers.

The Wicklow county board also voted to support the decision to support the abolition of the rule last night. At the same meeting, former Dublin goalkeeper John O'Leary was appointed as Wicklow football manager. O'Leary had served as a selector under former Dublin manager Tom Carr for the past four seasons.

The Kilkenny board also voted to delete Rule 21 last night, while the Wexford county board was debating the issue at their monthly meeting.

The topic was also due for debate at the Mayo board meeting, with the remaining counties due to make a decision on the issue over the coming days.

Meanwhile, footballers and hurlers will be semi-professional in the future, according to Dublin's Dessie Farrell, chairman of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), which had its a.g.m. at the weekend in Portlaoise. "I personally think it's inevitable," he said. "It may be some time off yet but the trend in all other sports has been in that direction and we live in a climate where money dictates everything."

He added: "Recently the International Rules team was pitted against the might of a professional outfit and won. Their levels of skill and physical prowess were up there with the professionals. That's not compatible with amateur status.

"Then there was the extra revenue generated by the new championship format. That will increase next year when the same format applies to hurling. In future there'll be more and more cash coming into the games. The day the first corporate seat was sold in Croke Park or even before in my view, when the first commercial logo went on a shirt, amateur status was under pressure."

Farrell said he accepts that the turnout of 50 players was "the one disappointing element of the weekend" but added that the meeting was more vocal and outspoken than a year ago.

All motions were carried unanimously, including the proposal that players receive a general expense payment of £100 per week to compensate for loss of earnings caused by inter-county commitments - a loss estimated by the GPA's commissioned audit to run in extreme cases to £145,000.

Farrell, the GPA "understand that the GAA have had some of their own people cost this proposal" but said he isn't overly optimistic on this issue.