Time for a grass roots boycott

trap4

Did anyone else see the profile of that young Kerry footballer on the 6:01 RTE news this evening? He's going back down to Australia to play Aussie rules for something like AUD$300k a year AFAICR.

He recounted how his Aussie counterparts were amazed when told that GAA players don't get any real compensation when we get such big crowds to the matches here.

Where the hell is all the money from gate receipts going? I think it's time to call for a grass roots boycott of next year's championship. I'm calling on all true GAA fans to stay away from all championship games this year and to encourage all their friends to do the same. Let's hit the GAA where it hurts. Let's force them to compensate the players who make the game what it is! :mad:

Big Ears

this isnt going to happen even if people stopped going to matches they(GAA) would rather shut the organisation down than pay players.

and if ur thinking do that and then set up a pro organisation.(well that would take years.

Imposter

Do you know how much it costs to run GAA clubs and county teams? The way the GAA is structured is that the money generated from the big games generally filters right down through the organisation.

In the last 20 years or so this money has been distributed to infrastructure projects like pitches, dressing rooms and the like. A large amount has also gone towards rebuilding Croker and again a significant sum has gone to the county boards which use the money to offset the ridiculous costs of running county teams (and not just at senior level).

As it is county players get reasonable expenses as well as usually meals after training and matches. Add to that quite a few also have the GAA to thank for their livelihood. A lot get jobs through contacts and also because of their fame. Yes they put in a lot of time and effort but they also get a lot out of it.

To turn such a setup professional would starve the lower reaches and the underage county setup of much needed funds and imo would kill the sports.

Top players are being relatively well treated and they now have their unions to look after themselves. I think if they're happy to play the games they love then why should fans of the sports have a problem with it?

JazzyJ

Players should be compensated for expenses they incur during the course of playing the game. However at the end of the day paying players to play is simply taking money out of the club level/grassroots of the game. Gaelic games are simply not just about the big games in Croke Park on sunny summer days. At club level around the country, coaches, mentors and players do tremendous work voluntarily. Should they be paid for this? People contribute to the GAA for the love of the games and not the prospect of financial reward and the longer that this remains the greater the capability for the development of the infrastructure for the games.

Currently the GAA has one of the best stadiums in the world. Significant money has been spent on the upgrading of provincial grounds. Would this reinvestment have been possible with vast amounts of money (€24m annually for rugby) being spent on the professional game? The two other major sporting organisations in this country, which happen to be professional, have an outdated stadium or none at all. Professionalism within those games has been to their detriment from the lack of reinvestment in their core infrastructures.

In my opinion, it is crucial for the GAA’s financial integrity that it remains an amateur organisation.

Below is a link to an interesting article in today's (03/12/03) Irish Independent about how professionalism has adversely affected rugby in Ireland.

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=97&si=1086958&issue_id=10112