Will GAA go Professional in Our Life Time

mickey1979

I personally think without a doubt as I see a subscription channel maybe the GAA's own before long. I think people will pay and I think there is an appetite for a professional game. Prob they would subsidize the weaker counties or payments may go on performance but think about it if say 200,000 households were prepared to pay 100 euro a year for subscription that's 20 million in the pot and say with better money in advertising we are talking of an extra 15 million so say 35 million in extra money that's a million a county.with 25-30 panel they could roughly pay somewhere in around 50k to the better pros and offer those on the fringe something like 20K. No matter what anyone thinks it may not happen in my life time it will happen.

Rebelheart

No... call me old fashioned but I love that the GAA is about my parish and the rock upon which so much community spirit, culture, pride, laughter, character, voluntary activity, and support during death and tragedy rests upon. I have an ineffable admiration for this role of the GAA.

The worst thing that could happen its ethos and tradition is that it becomes another business with all the attendant corruption and market-motivated subversion of the GAA's original sporting/cultural aim. British soccer is no role model for anybody who values culture and community over the needs of the market.

Royal Legend

it already is partially professional, players are mostly in college or take college courses so as they can train regular, the setups are professional already, I don't think that it will ever go pro, not enough money could be generated.

kippy

Yep, there will be some form of formal professional introduced for players in the next 20 years.
There's that much money involved at this stage and the players at the top aren't always going to be so amenable to put more and more time and effort, into ever more increasingly demanding inter-county training, taking more and more time out of their "real" jobs and lives (if any), while at the same time the money flows into Croker.
The top players are also seeing the top managers and officials getting paid at this point also.

The players union (GPA) was probably the precursor to this process being formalised at some point.

Ace2007

mickey1979 wrote: »

I personally think without a doubt as I see a subscription channel maybe the GAA's own before long. I think people will pay and I think there is an appetite for a professional game. Prob they would subsidize the weaker counties or payments may go on performance but think about it if say 200,000 households were prepared to pay 100 euro a year for subscription that's 20 million in the pot and say with better money in advertising we are talking of an extra 15 million so say 35 million in extra money that's a million a county.with 25-30 panel they could roughly pay somewhere in around 50k to the better pros and offer those on the fringe something like 20K. No matter what anyone thinks it may not happen in my life time it will happen.

:eek::eek: -


I think there may become a time where they will get some payment, but not professional as it would be the same top teams every year.

kippy

Ace2007 wrote: »

:eek::eek: -


I think there may become a time where they will get some payment, but not professional as it would be the same top teams every year.

Show me any of the top professional sports where it's not the same top teams every year.......
Look at even the GAA itself, even in the amateur era its almost always one of three or four teams that win the major stuff.

Professionalism can work at all levels although I suspect there may be some issues around European employment law.

Syferus

No. Next question.

Fr Tod Umptious

Royal Legend wrote: »

it already is partially professional, players are mostly in college or take college courses so as they can train regular, the setups are professional already, I don't think that it will ever go pro, not enough money could be generated.

This
If it was professional then you would have at most 6 football teams in the country
1 in Dublin
1 in the rest of Leinster
1 in Ulster
1 in Connaught
1 in Kerry
1 in the rest of Munster

That's all that could be sustained on a professional level.

iDave

32 counties with 2 codes. Panel of say 20-25. Managers, selectors etc. Minor and U21 will effectively be academy's who also get paid in soccer and rugby. That's a massive payroll you have in every county. Where is all the money going to come from. Even at the average industrial wages its still colossal.

mickey1979

Who would of said when the Premier League arrived we would be where we are now?? People are paying for 3 subscription channels to watch the same league BT, ESPN and Sky. Same in America funny enough I don't think money will be the problem. Its the championship structure that will prob change in return for more games also the club game would suffer. The Super League in Rugby League would not have a patch on the crowds attending that the GAA and it survives also you are not counting Sugar Daddies which some counties already have.

Cosmo Kramer

Not a hope, thankfully.

I have no problem with players being well rewarded for their efforts through sponsorship, tax breaks and prize money based on progression through league and championship, with managers being formally paid and the game becoming more 'professional' in terms of better organisation, match day entertainment and all the rest. However, if you mean full professionalism in the sense of transfers, individual contracts and teams being bought and sold, that is something we will (happily) never see in the GAA.

Ace2007

mickey1979 wrote: »

Who would of said when the Premier League arrived we would be where we are now?? People are paying for 3 subscription channels to watch the same league BT, ESPN and Sky. Same in America funny enough I don't think money will be the problem. Its the championship structure that will prob change in return for more games also the club game would suffer. The Super League in Rugby League would not have a patch on the crowds attending that the GAA and it survives also you are not counting Sugar Daddies which some counties already have.

How many people play GAA competitively in the world?
Now compare that answer with football and Rugby. (even before they got all the money, and the PL is where we are today).

Stinicker

Hopefully not, it is an amateur sport and monies should be used to promote it and help keep clubs who are struggling afloat.

Rockfish

mickey1979 wrote: »

Who would of said when the Premier League arrived we would be where we are now?? People are paying for 3 subscription channels to watch the same league BT, ESPN and Sky. Same in America funny enough I don't think money will be the problem. Its the championship structure that will prob change in return for more games also the club game would suffer. The Super League in Rugby League would not have a patch on the crowds attending that the GAA and it survives also you are not counting Sugar Daddies which some counties already have.

sorry but you are completely deluded, how can you possibly make comparisons with the EPL??

StephenHendry

can't see it happening for a long time if ever op tbh, i mean so many county boards are in difficulty financially that if as you suggested a pro structure being introduced, it could actually make thing much worse, how would a lot of co. boards handle it? well probably in the case of many, not very well i'd say.

i mean there is already a culture of 'professionalism' in terms of how every county , even the weaker ones prepare for the championship.

kippy

StephenHendry wrote: »

i mean there is already a culture of 'professionalism' in terms of how every county , even the weaker ones prepare for the championship.

There is, except the key guys get nothing for it.....
Something will have to give, may not be full on professional wages but there is little chance that guys will give up more and more of their time and lives, getting more and more of a professional setup around them, and not at some point demand that they get some form of compensation for it.....

resnatop

Professionalism in GAA might happen, but for it to happen, the right structure needs to be in place. A provincial rugby style board would lead to the game being wrecked, because all people would want to watch is the provinces, not their local club. This has happened in Rugby.

Football professionalism is more organic. People play Sunday league, but they also go to watch their local team (although they have now been diluted down by BSkyB). I have personally seen that at my club (I am huge Palace fan, former season ticket holder and all).

Will local pride prevail though? That is the good bit with the GAA. It is a huge community, and if it is done wrong, could ruin it to awful proportion. I have adopted Dublin as my county, due to my parents. I have never felt such a community spirit at club level until I went to the GAA. This could be wrecked and it would be sad day.

Flukey

It would destroy the game as we know it. The passion we saw from both counties yesterday comes from the love of the jersey and wanting to play for your team. The likes of Seanie Johnston apart, for most it is one team from the womb to the tomb. You cannot pay for that. Gareth Bale may be going to Real Madrid for crazy money this evening, but will he be able to play for them with the passion that we saw yesterday and will again next Sunday and for years to come in our games?

As a child, we play sport for fun and passion and with the heart. Money means nothing. Adult amateurs still play that way, but the motivation for paid professionals is different and they've lost something that money can't buy. Your Rangers v Celtic or Man Utd. v Man City etc. bring about passions, but for most players it is only something while they are playing for those teams and means nothing else. It means something to the fans, but the players are just passing through. Dublin v Kerry means something far more to the players that played yesterday, and has done for as long as they can remember. Money can't buy that. It can destroy it though. Let's hope it never does.

purplepanda

If Hurling went professional , with full time paid players it would only be a matter of time before weaker counties & / or sides wanted to sign better available players from other countries like Kilkenny, that have an excess of talent.

Preventing this would be easily challenged legally as a restraint of trade in the courts. You couldn't prevent the transfer of players in this scenario.

A professional Hurling / Football competition could also be started outside the control of the GAA.

In such a case the GAA would carry on as normal with the odd talented player going professional such as those going to play Australian Rules or Rugby or signing contracts with English Football Clubs. As happens nowadays.

I don't think it's viable unless a few overseas sides were inaugurated into such a competition. Even then being full professional needs 20 games a season league, access to stadiums, sponsorship & TV contracts. The finances needed would be considerable.