Enjoyed the little spat between GPA Chief Executive Dessie Farrell and a founder member of the players' body Donal O'Neill.
It seems they disagree over whether the grants for players issue will undermine the amateur status of the GAA.
O'Neill insists that it will while Dessie reckons a recent undertaking from the GPA would ensure that the amateur status of the game will be enhanced.
I agree with O'Neill that pay for play is inevitable but I think that the grants scheme is as good a half way house as we are going to get, paying players depending on the run their county gets in the All Ireland, without it becoming a free for all.
I think the grants scheme is a fair method of compensating players for the effort they put into inter-county football and hurling because the demands are incredible on amateur players.
The whole debate on this issue should not be about the amateur status of the association, that's been a sham for years, it's how we manage the revolution that the grants scheme and increased sponsorship poses for the development of the association as a whole.
Unfortunately it seems likely that we will go on taking this debate into blind alleys for years to come.
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2 comments:
I see where you are coming from --re. shamateurism and the demands being made of amateur players--but I fear that the "free for all" will leave the GAA unrecognisable, and so it's worth trying to hold back the tide.
The problem is that once exposed to EU law the GAA will no longer be able to fully regulate what happens in Gaelic games, just as FIFA and UEFA are powerless to take measures to tackle the growing competitive imbalance in soccer.
It's a pessimistic outlook, and one that some say could never happen because of the history and tradition in the GAA, but all it will take is one disgruntled individual, like Bosman to make it happen. Shouldn't be too hard to find one of them in the GAA and taking the GAA to court will be nothing new either.
I think that the free for all is the worst possible option for the GAA at this stage. I think we have to try to manage what is essentially a revolution in the game as the culture changes and professionalism increasingly takes hold.
I agree that tradition alone no matter how strong won't hold back change that's why we have to try to take the bulls by the horn and try as much as possible to keep the integrity of the Association as we know it while recognising that we are operating in a different environment. I believe that the grants, payment or expenses scheme is an opportunity to adjust to a changing climate. The Bosman analogy is an interesting angle, it may not happen but we are no longer immune to change driven from Europe.
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