GAA player payment in the US

themink

Not sure if there has been much discussion on this before but would like to get some others opinions on the practice of players getting paid to go play in the US during the summer months. While we all know it is against the rules of the GAA to pay either players or managers, i think it is a fairly commonly accepted & tolerated fact that a lot of GAA players that go to the US, get paid to do so. Payment is either direct in cash in hand or in the form of free accommodation, flights etc. This practice seems to have been in place for quite a while with numerous big GAA stars having played GAA in the US at some point.

My own perspective is that Ive been living in the US myself for the past few years so have seen at fairly close hand how the system works. On the one hand, it is great for the players that do come over that get to use their talents to help get a job, some money for the summer etc. And in one way, this is one of the few direct perks a young talented GAA player can take advantage of.

On the other hand, this practice as far as I can see is to the real detriment to the development of the game in the US. Clubs that partake in this sort of player recruitment will raise large sums of money every year but spend it almost exclusively on player recruitment. Little to no money is put into training facilities, promoting the game, etc. The GAA barely exists until the summer months when all the imports arrive. The end result of all this focus on importing talent each year is that a good portion of the people who might be otherwise inclined to get involved with a team are left on the periphery and ultimately fall off & choose to do something else with their time. Unlike in Ireland, where GAA clubs are generally thriving organizations with multiple teams at multiple age groups.. in the US, many clubs are really just run by a handful of individuals, have a handful of players and then just import a whole new team each year. Im sure there is probably some level of back handed player payment happening with some club teams in Ireland. But i doubt it is done on such a short term basis and on a large scale.

So just wondering does anyone have any opinions on this? Should the GAA try to clamp down on this repeated flaunting of the rules & ethos of the organization or just let it be? Does it matter?

homerjay2005

cash in hand is rare to say the least. begrudging giving somebody flights or a job is petty especially some young lad who just wants to enjoy his summer.

if they good enough to get it good luck to them, enjoy it while they can.

themink

homerjay2005 wrote: »

cash in hand is rare to say the least. begrudging giving somebody flights or a job is petty especially some young lad who just wants to enjoy his summer.

if they good enough to get it good luck to them, enjoy it while they can.

Yes indeed i agree, good luck to the players if they can get it. My question is more from the angle of why are the clubs going down this road in the first place e.g. if a club in dublin paid 10-15 lads from around the country every year to transfer to their club to compete in the championship. I would also say good luck to the players in this case.. but would also have to question the motivation & long term health of the club doing this?

wonga77

Are Leitrim not well known for this in New York, Jamie Clark and the few other Armagh players that went over last summer and won the senior championship didnt do it for the craic. Not sure how you can rule it out, happens here too but is not made as obvious

rebel girl 15

I know that the ladies association in America have a bye law that only a certain number of visaed players can be on the pitch at one time, ensuring that "local" players have the majority of spaces on the team. The GAA have a rule in place now that if a club has one team, they can have a maximum of ten sanctioned players from Ireland, if they have a second team, the number increases by 8

celt262

wonga77 wrote: »

Are Leitrim not well known for this in New York, Jamie Clark and the few other Armagh players that went over last summer and won the senior championship didnt do it for the craic. Not sure how you can rule it out, happens here too but is not made as obvious

New York is the only "County Board" in states that allow lads over to play who are not on J1 visas. Heard that what Leitrim did last year and the fact that it was known so well may have put an end to lads going over but i haven't heard that GAA have put a stop to it yet.

Hidalgo

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

I know that the ladies association in America have a bye law that only a certain number of visaed players can be on the pitch at one time, ensuring that "local" players have the majority of spaces on the team. The GAA have a rule in place now that if a club has one team, they can have a maximum of ten sanctioned players from Ireland, if they have a second team, the number increases by 8

That rule exists throughout the North American division in mens and womens codes.
Usually 13 a side with 7 out of towners the max allowed on the pitch for each team at one team. Anyone signed before Apr 30th is classed as home based.

New York is different afaik, there you can bring over 2 or 3 weekend players, ie players flown over for a single game.

That was how it worked a few years ago anyhow, not sure if the rulings have changed.

Hidalgo

themink wrote: »

Not sure if there has been much discussion on this before but would like to get some others opinions on the practice of players getting paid to go play in the US during the summer months. While we all know it is against the rules of the GAA to pay either players or managers, i think it is a fairly commonly accepted & tolerated fact that a lot of GAA players that go to the US, get paid to do so. Payment is either direct in cash in hand or in the form of free accommodation, flights etc. This practice seems to have been in place for quite a while with numerous big GAA stars having played GAA in the US at some point.

My own perspective is that Ive been living in the US myself for the past few years so have seen at fairly close hand how the system works. On the one hand, it is great for the players that do come over that get to use their talents to help get a job, some money for the summer etc. And in one way, this is one of the few direct perks a young talented GAA player can take advantage of.

On the other hand, this practice as far as I can see is to the real detriment to the development of the game in the US. Clubs that partake in this sort of player recruitment will raise large sums of money every year but spend it almost exclusively on player recruitment. Little to no money is put into training facilities, promoting the game, etc. The GAA barely exists until the summer months when all the imports arrive. The end result of all this focus on importing talent each year is that a good portion of the people who might be otherwise inclined to get involved with a team are left on the periphery and ultimately fall off & choose to do something else with their time. Unlike in Ireland, where GAA clubs are generally thriving organizations with multiple teams at multiple age groups.. in the US, many clubs are really just run by a handful of individuals, have a handful of players and then just import a whole new team each year. Im sure there is probably some level of back handed player payment happening with some club teams in Ireland. But i doubt it is done on such a short term basis and on a large scale.

So just wondering does anyone have any opinions on this? Should the GAA try to clamp down on this repeated flaunting of the rules & ethos of the organization or just let it be? Does it matter?

Efforts are being made to promote the game among kids in some cities, with teams of US kids making up underage teams, thats really where it needs to start, at underage level.
TG4 showed a documentary last yr or the yr before in Boston of kids teams from Boston, NEw York, Chicago, Philly and maybe more cities participating in a weekend tournament.