The death of GAA ?

[RMCF]

Before I start this thread, let me say that I am a football (some of you may call it soccer) fan first and foremost.

I was never overly mad on Gaelic games, probably because I was forced to play it at school for years instead of football, and we all wanted to play football

I do appreciate it as a game, and even more so the effort that the players put in to train and play in their own time.

However, now that there is the whole uproar about players looking to get paid is it going to go the way of football and be ruined by huge wages, sponsorship deals, marketing, hype, TV?

You can understand the players wanting to get paid, but is this the beginning of the end of this amateur game?

 

[ClubMan]

You can understand the players wanting to get paid, but is this the beginning of the end of this amateur game?

Amateur for players - full time professional for many coaches and administrators!

 

[RMCF]

That will not work.

The players are the talent. Consider football - they earn more than their managers.

Gaelic footballers to continue working, then heading out to train most nights, then play at weekend for nothing? Not a chance.

 

[ClubMan]

That will not work.

What I meant was that this is the de facto situation!

 

[RMCF]

What I meant was that this is the de facto situation!

oops, sorry.

So how do you think it will affect Gaelic games. As a soccer fan I always had the GAA fans spouting with pride about their amateur status and how honest and dedicated the players were.

Just wondering is it all about to change?

 

[Humpback]

Personally, I believe that the death of gaelic football started upwards on ten years ago with the advent of the "northern style" of football. As someone from a football-only county, I never had time for hurling until the past few years when it seems that the better games have always been hurling rather than football.

The death of gaelic football will continue as long as their games continue to be less and less of a draw for the public.

 

[TripleA]

Personally, I believe that the death of gaelic football started upwards on ten years ago with the advent of the "northern style" of football.

I agree somewhat with this post. The basketball style, the 13 men behind the ball, the pulling, fouling and dragging all supported by the GAA's ridiculous 3 bookings rule (which i think encourages fouling - as in "ah sure i have 2 more chances") has led the game into a poor spectacle.

I am still of an age to play Gaelic Football and have represented my county at Senior level, but i gave up 2 years ago because i fell out of love of the game.

Hurling is played by too few counties with only an elite of 2 maybe 3 out of those few that can possibly win it.

 

[ubiquitous]

Amateur for players - full time professional for many coaches and administrators!

Do you have any objection to charities such as Goal, Concern or Barnardos employing full-time professional administrators, while the majority of their work is done by amateur volunteers?

If not, what's your problem with the GAA doing likewise?

 

[diarmuidc]

If it does go professional, then the idea of "playing for your county" goes out the window. I'd imagine the Bosman Ruling would apply equally to GAA players.

 

[carpedeum]

I was never overly mad on Gaelic games, probably because I was forced to play it at school for years instead of football, and we all wanted to play football

This is where the rot started. Myself and my brother were caned by a mad teacher and a fanatical headmaster at school (Dublin area, learly '70's) for choosing soccer over GAA! This was common practice in most schools. The RC Church also manipulated the GAA as part of their now dormant dictatorship.

One of my sons plays GAA through more positive marketing of the GAA in the local primary school. He also plays for a great club with world class facilities (paid for by us taxpayers admittedly) e.g. flloodlit all-weather pitch, carpet-like grass pitches, gym, changing rooms, skilled mentors etc. However, more children are still choosing soccer, even though facilities can be pretty basic e.g. changing in the open in public parks, no clubhouses for most schoolboy clubs, little or no funding from the FAI, minimal support for managers etc. Why is this? It is probably to do with the marketing to saturation point of the Premier League and Champions League and blanket TV coverage. Note: the kids don't support League of Ireland clubs.

My son and the other players go to GAA Hurling and GAA Football training togged out in Man. Utd., Liverpool, Arsenal, Celtic and Chelsea gear every week and often have a soccer match on the all-weather pitch until official training starts! My brother and myself laugh at photographs of the kids with hurley and helmet dressed in a Man. Utd. or Liverpool or Arsenal outfits!

Unfortunately, to preserve the sport and retain the interest of today's youngsters, the GAA have to embrace professionalism and modern marketing strategies.

 

[ClubMan]

Do you have any objection to charities such as Goal, Concern or Barnardos employing full-time professional administrators, while the majority of their work is done by amateur volunteers?

If not, what's your problem with the GAA doing likewise?

Er - did I SAY that I had any problem with the way that the GAA managed their own affairs? All I did was point out some facts about the situation as it currently pertains!

 

[ubiquitous]

One of my sons plays GAA .... He also plays for a great club with world class facilities (paid for by us taxpayers admittedly) e.g. flloodlit all-weather pitch, carpet-like grass pitches, gym, changing rooms, skilled mentors etc.

Just for the sake of pedantry, the national Sports Capital Programme is funded not by the taxpayer but by Lotto surpluses. The skilled mentors are funded in every county within the Republic exclusively through GAA resources, although this is not the case admittedly in Northern Ireland.

 

[ubiquitous]

Er - did I SAY that I had any problem with the way that the GAA managed their own affairs? All I did was point out some facts about the situation as it currently pertains!

Fair enough, sorry for taking you up wrong

My point is that the "Amateur for players - full time professional for many coaches and administrators" model is not at all unusual, and works well in many scenarios.

 

[The_Banker]

Firstly, just to lay my cards on the table. I am an Irish soccer supporter, and when I say Irish I mean Eircom league. Also, my second love would be Hurling and then Gaelic Football.
To answer the original posters question, we are not seeing the death of the GAA. Simply, we are witnessing a revolution within the GAA led by the players.

For far too long the players have been treated poorly compared to the administrators within the various county boards. And none more so than here in Cork. (Just read the books by Justin McCarthy, Brian Corcoran and Ger Loughnane in Clare).

Professionalism is coming and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Professionalism started when the GAA accepted sponsorship for the All-Irelands and now there is talk of pay per view and all the money that entails.
And the players are expected to sit back and keep training while they see none of this money??? Never going to happen!!

Added to this you have county boards who have to be dragged to the negotiating table for every little concession instead of them being proactive and giving when it is deemed appropriate. The Cork County Board is more like the Politburo in Stalin’s time than a board elected to administer GAA. Especially when you have the County Secretary earning a salary (and it’s a job for life!!) lecturing players about amateur ethos. In 2002 he didn’t want to give the players gym membership or a second jersey. Players who swapped jerseys after a game had to pay for them (after an All-Ireland U21 Final)
Because of actions like this the GAA is in for a seismic shift in the coming years.

 

[carpedeum]

Just for the sake of pedantry, the national Sports Capital Programme is funded not by the taxpayer but by Lotto surpluses. The skilled mentors are funded in every county within the Republic exclusively through GAA resources, although this is not the case admittedly in Northern Ireland.

I should have been more specific... "funded directly and indirectly by the citizens of this country"

 

[Welfarite]

IMHO, paying GAA players will be the death of soccer in Ireland. GAA will become more attractive to soccer players, many of whom chose that game over GAA for monetary reasons.

 

[ubiquitous]

To answer the original posters question, we are not seeing the death of the GAA. Simply, we are witnessing a revolution within the GAA led by the players.

....

And the players are expected to sit back and keep training while they see none of this money??? Never going to happen!!

Er, how many club players (99% of the total) are taking part in this revolution as you term it? How much money will they see?

For far too long the players have been treated poorly compared to the administrators within the various county boards. And none more so than here in Cork. (Just read the books by Justin McCarthy, Brian Corcoran and Ger Loughnane in Clare)
...
Added to this you have county boards who have to be dragged to the negotiating table for every little concession instead of them being proactive and giving when it is deemed appropriate. The Cork County Board is more like the Politburo in Stalin’s time than a board elected to administer GAA. Especially when you have the County Secretary earning a salary (and it’s a job for life!!) lecturing players about amateur ethos. In 2002 he didn’t want to give the players gym membership or a second jersey. Players who swapped jerseys after a game had to pay for them (after an All-Ireland U21 Final)

.

In fairness Cork County Board is not typical of other county boards. Neither is Frank Murphy a typical county secretary. And yet... Cork is one of the most successful counties at both football & hurling, and has THE best club scene in the country in both codes, and its County Board seems to have the support of the vast majority of its clubs. It must be doing something right!

Because of actions like this the GAA is in for a seismic shift in the coming years.

I just hope it doesn't end up like the League of Ireland. If the Bosman ruling is applied so as to allow Cork teams to be populated by Dublin, Kerry, Armagh etc players (and vice versa), I fear it will...

 

[MrMan]

It is probably to do with the marketing to saturation point of the Premier League and Champions League and blanket TV coverage. Note: the kids don't support League of Ireland clubs.

I don't think this quite stands up as most of my friends and myself played soccer as game of choice at lunchtime and that was before the sky Tv marketing machine took over. I do believe that it has an effect now, but it can't be the only reason why most kids choose soccer over gaelic.

Professionalism is coming and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Well the professionalism will be funded by the fans so they might have something to do with it.

IMHO, paying GAA players will be the death of soccer in Ireland. GAA will become more attractive to soccer players, many of whom chose that game over GAA for monetary reasons.

I don't think this will happen for the simple reason as look at what professionalism has done for the league of Ireland. Many clubs not paying wages for weeks on end, receivership etc. Don't forget county panels will be operating with higher numbers i.e 15 starters as opposed to 11 so the money to go round will be sparce and not enough to make reasonable let alone superstar incomes.

I think the best route for the GAA is to let the star players commit to endorsements etc so that the can supplement their income, but I don't think a wage is sustainable.

I also feel that it is at club level from junior to senior that the GAA falls down. There is often political bickering and 'pull' and this can be very off putting to young players. Most of us I'm sure will have experienced some bizarre selection policies at local clubs.

 

[DACMAN]

IMO a major issue for the GAA is how they deal with the club players who make up by far the majority of its adult playing population - the fixtures are completely dependent on how the county is progressing in the championship, this results in club matches being either cancelled at short notice or else crammed into a short time window – club’s can go for over 2 months during the summer without a game. It’s very frustrating for players and management alike – their pawns to the county boards fixtures. Since the advent of the backdoor system the clubs have suffered greatly, I think that there will be a sense of grievance now because it seems as if the county players are being compensated for their time but in the case of the club people giving up time to prepare for a game that is called off at a few day’s notice is deemed acceptable. I believe that Clubs will have to start playing without their County players sooner rather than later.

 

[joe sod]

I think gaelic football is suffering from a lack of proper enforcement of rules. therefore while it still holds a fanatical following for many people in ireland it holds little interest for foreigners, however hurling is admired by many outsiders. Australian rules is in the same category but is even more extreme because it is professional so players are payed to batter each other. Australian rules has a fanatical tribal following but holds little interest for foreignors except irish gaelic football fans.