Let X be a smooth, projective, geometrically connected curve over a finite field Fq, and let G be a split semisimple algebraic group over Fq. Its dual group Gˆ is a split reductive group over Z. Conjecturally, any l-adic Gˆ-local system on X (equivalently, any conjugacy class of continuous homomorphisms π1(X)→Gˆ(Q¯¯¯¯l)) should be associated with an everywhere unramified automorphic representation of the group G.
We show that for any homomorphism π1(X)→Gˆ(Q¯¯¯¯l) of Zariski dense image, there exists a finite Galois cover Y→X over which the associated local system becomes automorphic.