How the GAA will look in 2029...

Daysha

Not usually a big fan of Martin Breheny, but I found this an interesting read.

1 The association will have come through some torrid battles between players and administrators over 'pay for play'. It will still be a controversial issue but the player-strikes which led initially to the cancellation of some National Leagues and later an All-Ireland championship will be over.

These will have been especially divisive but the end result will be that all sides have a clearer understanding of where the GAA is heading in the Ireland of that time.

2 There will be no formal recognition of 'pay for play' but inter-county panels will receive grants paid solely from GAA coffers. An independent mechanism will be in place to decide on the size of the grants, based on the various income streams from gate receipts and commercial revenues. A large number of current players will be used as coaches, ambassadors etc in response to the growing threat from rugby.

3 The provincial championships will have been scrapped. Munster (hurling) and Ulster (football) will resist it for as long as possible but will eventually give in when it becomes clear that unless the system is overhauled in order to create more orderly space for club activity there will be wholesale defections to other sports.

The nonsense which applies nowadays, where some players get no club games throughout summer and then face a fixtures glut in the autumn, will be no more as there will be a general recognition that had things not changed, the GAA would have been irretrievably undermined.

4 The provincial councils as we know them will have been scrapped on the basis that it doesn't make sense to run an organisation off four different-sized units representing five, six, nine and 12 counties. Instead, there will still be north-south-east-west councils, each with eight counties. The All-Ireland championship will be run on that basis.

5 Dublin will have two football teams, drawn from north and south of the Liffey. It was a good idea when mooted by the Strategic Review Committee in 2002 but they didn't sell it properly to the Dublin County Board in advance, leading to a hostility which gave the proposal the worst possible start in life. It was never fully debated in Dublin because it was felt that an attempt was being made to hoist on it on them. The reality, however, is that having one team per grade in a city and county with such a large population is counter-productive.

6 Major research and analysis will be on the way in an attempt to ascertain if the county model best serves the GAA in the vastly changed demographics which apply in 2029. There will be a growing sense that perhaps a super-club model is a better way of organising things.

That would take account of the bigger population areas on the east coast, giving them additional teams, while small counties like Leitrim and Longford would operate as one super club in the All-Ireland championship.

Far-fetched? Not really. Back in 2002, the then GAA president Sean McCague suggested that club rather than county may be the away forward.

"Geographical and numerical pressures are emerging which will have to be closely monitored over the coming years. It's logical to assume that if a pattern develops where up to 50pc of the population are going to be living in the Leinster area, structures will have to change," he said in an Irish Independent interview.

7 All the really big rugby and soccer internationals will be back at Croke Park after a spell at Lansdowne Road, which will continue to cater for games for which 50,000 capacity is sufficient. That will happen inside five years anyway when the madness of playing games in a 50,000 arena while an 82,500-capacity stadium lies idle across the Liffey becomes apparent.

8 The GAA will have ended its daft policy of supporting large stadiums around the country which are rarely filled. The counties involved will object at first when they learn they won't be grant-aided centrally for work on the those grounds but the logic of down-sizing to smaller, more comfortable stadiums will eventually win the argument.

9 Despite regular predictions of its demise, hurling will still be thriving but won't have expanded beyond its current power bases.

10 Mick O'Dwyer, then aged 93, will be in charge of Cork, bringing to 10 the number of counties he has managed in a 54-year sideline career. He still won't have been asked to manage the Irish International Rules team though.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/how-the-gaa-will-look-in-2029-1835630.html

What do you think, are clubs and not counties the way of the future for the association? Is it only a matter of time before soccer and rugby returns to Croker? Could the provincial councils really be scrapped?

Had to laugh at Micko though

pazza

Very interesting article, there are a lot of points here that I think he may be surprisingly close to.
I do think that the GPA will lead a revolt against the games, and that it will all change after that.
I do think that players will be paid.
I do think the proventials will be scrapped.
I thnk Micko will probably still be coaching, perhaps brining a first Leinster win to Kilkenny footballers ;-)
The clubs - well that could break one of two ways, they will either be the main factor in the GAA (not what I think will happen) OR the clubs will become a poor relation to the GAA, forgoten and low priority with all resources put to pay the few "elite" athletes that play inter-county...
And finally - soccer/rugby back n Croker, well thats an interesting one, I think this will depend on how all 3 organisations structure their corporate / premium seats.

MayoForSam

Nice little bit of crystal ball gazing alright.

It would make total sense for the big soccer and rugby games to remain at Croker. On the other hand, does that mean the GAA would in theory avail of Lansdowne for games that wouldn't come close to filling Croke Park? It looks terrible half or even quarter full at the moment.

Agree too with the nonsense of the GAA supporting big stadiums where people don't want them. Pearse Stadium in Galway is a good example. They would be better off investing in Tuam Stadium that is easier to get to and that is located in the heartland of Galway football. Galway hurlers might be better served with a stadium towards the east of the city, especially as this is where major population growth is planned.

Players will end up getting some type of stipend, probably grant based, the GAA will have to accept this.

The idea of club replacing county would be a very contentious issue, especially in more rural areas. Tradition would never allow demographics to decide that Dublin should have possibly 4 or 5 entrants into the All-Ireland Championship while smaller western counties loose out. I suppose the closest parallel in the opposite direction would be the rise of the rugby provinces compared to the clubs over recent years.

I imagine Micko will have been preserved like Richard Nixon and the other 'heads' in Futarama and will keep on coaching in perpetuity .

Pride Fighter

pazza wrote: »

Very interesting article, there are a lot of points here that I think he may be surprisingly close to.
I do think that the GPA will lead a revolt against the games, and that it will all change after that.
I do think that players will be paid.
I do think the proventials will be scrapped.
I thnk Micko will probably still be coaching, perhaps brining a first Leinster win to Kilkenny footballers ;-)
The clubs - well that could break one of two ways, they will either be the main factor in the GAA (not what I think will happen) OR the clubs will become a poor relation to the GAA, forgoten and low priority with all resources put to pay the few "elite" athletes that play inter-county...
And finally - soccer/rugby back n Croker, well thats an interesting one, I think this will depend on how all 3 organisations structure their corporate / premium seats.

Kilkenny already have 3 Leinster football titles.

buck65

It is quite interesting but I think most of those changes should and must be made with in the next 5-10 years. The Hurling C'ship has descended into farce this year and the club game in Ireland is wrecked by an intercounty calendar that edits itself as needs be.
The hurling should be broken into 2 groups of 6 played on a league basis. You could still conceivably have your Munster and Leinster finals within this structue.
Playing in Landsdowne Rd is ridiculous if the game could fill Croker. The GAA has no idea yet the damage rugby is doing to it. Justifiably so too. The GAA is a mess.

DC_Roscommon

....And Roscommon have been forced to field an minor football team as they have won the last consecutive nine All-Ireland titles:D

grenache

I would totally oppose the idea of 'super clubs' taking over from the county structure. It would alienate a whole host of people. Your own county is sacred. Why would a Leitrim fan shout for a Roscommon player? It goes against the whole purpose of the association.

LeoB

Totally against anything being done to create a super club scene. People should wake up to the fact that without their local G.A.A club many areas would decend into chaos. Time the G.A.A started to promote on a more aggressive note the value of the G.A.A in the community.

Pay for Play! My H**E. Look at the financial mess other sports are in, it is simply not on and the sooner Brehony and the hacks stop listening to Dessie and Sean Kavenagh the better. How many League of Ireland clubs have to be bailed each year? Some of the big Rugby clubs are in dire financial state also. If lads are not happy with the way they are treated let them go and play for their clubs.

Dublin with 2 teams is possible. They should have 2 in the O'Byrne Cup, 1 for the "Panel" and 1 for lads U/23 who have not played senior game for their county. Fingal have just succesfully completed their second season in N.H.L and Rackard cup.

Hurling will have changed with more counties becoming more competitive but the championship could be split in 2 and soon enough.

I would develop a stadium in Athlone which would be used for some connaught and Leinster games. It would get heavy use with it being hired for other sports. Develop Thurles and Clones and thats it.

LeoB

pazza wrote: »

And finally - soccer/rugby back n Croker, well thats an interesting one, I think this will depend on how all 3 organisations structure their corporate / premium seats.

Not sure of your angle on this. Dont want to off topic, but........

The only people who need to look at how they sell their corporate seats are the F.A.I and I.R.F.U.
The G.A.A price structure is not bad. From what I hear from lads who follow soccer is the tickets are a rip off. Despite promises that the extra capicity in Croke Pk would allow them reduce the price of tickets. Not so sure this has been done. You have buy block of tickets for 3 match's? They knock €10 off the price of competitive game but the price of going to see a 3rd rate friendly match is €35 when it should be €5. I also hear they dont do childrens tickets is this true?

I can bring my kids to Croke Pk see 2 good games and have change out of €55 That is good value

rossie1977

grenache wrote: »

I would totally oppose the idea of 'super clubs' taking over from the county structure. It would alienate a whole host of people. Your own county is sacred. Why would a Leitrim fan shout for a Roscommon player? It goes against the whole purpose of the association.

well mayo fans haven't had any problems shouting for roscommon born players over the years (ballaghaderreen players)

[runs far away from this thread] :P

Daysha

Breheny's problem is he wants to live in his own version of an idealistic GAA world where the Championship would become extensions of every other sport in Europe. He seems obsessed with how much money the GAA is making and he's long been in favour of scrapping the provincial series in both codes in return for Champions League syle groups and knockouts.

Stealdo

That article makes Baby Jesus cry.

Some people just don't seem to be able to see that the inter county game is the tip of the ice berg, the real GAA sits way way beneath and is far bigger and far more important. If the likes of Breheny had their way we'd have an elitist, non-sport, completely inaccessible, money based game like the one marketed by UEFA/FIFA, but hey, we could make comparisons about Dublin vs Man Utd jersey sales all summer long.

conchubhar1

that is the purest load of bollix i have ever read about anything ever

walrusgumble

LeoB wrote: »

Totally against anything being done to create a super club scene. People should wake up to the fact that without their local G.A.A club many areas would decend into chaos. Time the G.A.A started to promote on a more aggressive note the value of the G.A.A in the community.

Pay for Play! My H**E. Look at the financial mess other sports are in, it is simply not on and the sooner Brehony and the hacks stop listening to Dessie and Sean Kavenagh the better. How many League of Ireland clubs have to be bailed each year? Some of the big Rugby clubs are in dire financial state also. If lads are not happy with the way they are treated let them go and play for their clubs.

Dublin with 2 teams is possible. They should have 2 in the O'Byrne Cup, 1 for the "Panel" and 1 for lads U/23 who have not played senior game for their county. Fingal have just succesfully completed their second season in N.H.L and Rackard cup.

Hurling will have changed with more counties becoming more competitive but the championship could be split in 2 and soon enough.

I would develop a stadium in Athlone which would be used for some connaught and Leinster games. It would get heavy use with it being hired for other sports. Develop Thurles and Clones and thats it.

i doubt portlaoise or tullamore would be happy with another stadium in the midlands. it wouldbe funny to see the fight between the two athlone clubs trying to get the place for themselves.

LeoB

conchubhar1 wrote: »

that is the purest load of bollix i have ever read about anything ever

Is that Brehony you are talking about or a post

conchubhar1

That whole article - that would not be the GAA at all.......