Nothing taken for granted with GAA

Sunday Business Post - Business of Sport - Jan 11 2009

Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.

The payment of inter county players has long been a bone of contention in GAA circles, and the debate over whether professionalism should be introduced has been one of the associations’ biggest issues over the last number of years. While the Gaelic Players’ Association (GPA) insists it does not want to see hurlers and footballers lose their amateur status, it has fought hard to get compensation for those out of pocket as a result of playing for their county.

After long negotiations, the first government grants to inter-county GAA players were paid out last month, but already there are signs that they could be cut this year.

A total of €3.5 million was shared among 1,800 inter-county footballers and hurlers, with individual payments ranging from €1,400 to €2,500, depending on how many appearances were made in the 2008 All-Ireland championship. The grants are administered by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) on behalf of the government, and distributed by the GAA.

However, sports minister Martin Cullen has signalled that the player grants scheme may be scaled back in 2009, due to the economic downturn.

Dessie Farrell, the GPA’s chief executive and a former inter-county star forward for Dublin’s footballers, said he was confident that there would be no substantial changes to the scheme. ‘‘The ISC has an 8 per cent reduction in its budget, and we would be very happy to work within those parameters,” he said. ‘‘We see no reason why it should go beyond that.”

Farrell said that it had taken a good deal of hard work to persuade all involved to accept the grants scheme.

‘‘It was a very hard-fought concession,” he said. ‘‘We have been campaigning for this since the 2002 Finance Bill, when professional athletes were given lucrative tax breaks. Nonetheless, we are delighted with it.”

Farrell said that the principle involved was more important to players than the amounts being paid. Neither the payments nor the aims of the GPA interfered in any way with the GAA’s amateur ethos.

‘‘The upper levels of the GAA have accepted our acceptance of the amateur status of GAA players, but there is still some scepticism out there,” he said. ‘‘We have gone on record on numerous occasions to insist that we are very happy to see the amateur status retained. There is no hidden agenda.

‘‘You could always do with more funding. But, in this particular instance, we felt that there should be some recognition of the role that intercounty players play within the society.

‘‘We also felt that the revenue generated for the exchequer by these high-profile games should be taken into account.”

Farrell stressed that GPA members were eager to contribute off the pitch, in return for the money coming from the government.

‘‘It is not just a case of players putting their hand out and doing a runner,” he said. ‘‘There is an opportunity to convey very important social messages through high-profile role models. We are currently in discussions with the HSE about a programme involving mental health awareness for the general population. We would like to encourage more take-up from various government departments.”

However, Farrell said that, to keep the prospect of pay-for-play at a distance, there would have to be a certain ‘‘quid pro quo’’ on the part of the authorities - in both Croke Park and Leinster House.

‘‘The basis for the retention of the amateur ethos will be continued government funding, married with the introduction of a comprehensive welfare package for inter-county players,” he said. ‘‘That would be a foundation for players within an amateur context.”
Sponsorship

Farrell said that the GPA signed an agreement with sports marketing and management agency Platinum One last November. ‘‘Platinum One will manage the commercial side of things for us and seek out new sponsorship opportunities,” he said. ‘‘We are happy to hand over our commercial portfolio to a company with vast experience in sports sponsorship and management.”

The GPA currently has commercial relationships with Energise Sport, Halifax and Opel. The latter company’s three-year agreement with the GPA, signed in 2006, is understood to be worth approximately €3 million over three years. No figure was released for the Halifax deal, which was agreed in 2007 and runs for five years.

Farrell said that commercial relationships had been vital in establishing the GPA as a going concern.

‘‘Our ten-year share of revenues agreement with Energise, with what was C&C and is now Britvic, has been a great success for us,” he said.

‘‘Without that, there possibly would be no GPA today. Halifax sponsors our Fair Play award, and is involved with our twinning programme and Gaelic performance summer camps. Opel sponsors our Team of the Year and players’ awards.”

Last year’s Opel footballer of the year was Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh, while Kilkenny’s Eoin Larkin won the hurling award. Farrell said that being associated with household names such as these was attractive for companies.

‘‘Ultimately, the companies see a huge benefit in being associated with the GPA, because of their involvement with our high-profile members,” he said. ‘‘It is a very attractive proposition for companies wanting that kind of brand exposure and coverage.”

Other work

Farrell said it could be frustrating when people automatically associated the GPA solely with financial matters. He pointed to two less heavily publicised GPA programmes, both of which were introduced last year.

‘‘The Fair Play award focuses on the positive aspects of players’ discipline and on and off-field behaviour,” he said.

‘‘Discipline has been a big problem for the GAA for as long as I can remember, so it is vital that disciplinary issues are tackled at an early age and applied across the board. We see the Fair Play award fitting in well with that.”

‘‘We also launched a twinning programme which pairs strong hurling counties with weaker counties,” Farrell said. ‘‘Players from the stronger counties do coaching sessions in the weaker counties. This programme was devised and implemented by the players themselves. It was hugely successful, yet that seems to get lost in the wash.”

Official recognition

Farrell said the GPA was now focusing its energies on gaining official acceptance from the GAA as the recognised voice of inter-county footballers and hurlers. ‘‘We have been recognised in a de facto capacity for a number of years,” he said.

‘‘The official recognition involves having an official agreement between the GPA and the GAA which recognises the vital role that the GPA fulfils in player welfare and other areas. We would hope in the coming months to ultimately bring that to the final stages.”

Farrell said that this agreement would have to recognise the central role the GPA played in protecting the welfare and rights of its members.

‘‘Through the official negotiations with the GAA, we would like to put in place a very comprehensive player welfare package, with funding from the GAA,” he said. ‘‘Those services would include career development programmes, educational programmes, help with financial planning, and health and wellbeing, including injury, psychological and medical issues.’