The start of the 2012 GAA season has been dominated by the
discussion of illegal payments to county managers. The topic has reinvigorated the debate about
the possibility of this leading to players receiving money for their commitment
to their county team. There is no doubt
that inter-county teams are becoming more and more professional in their
operations on and off the field. The
million dollar question is whether these costs can continue to rise without the
players, who generate most revenue at the turnstiles, being compensated for
giving up the majority of their weeknights in order to succeed for their
county.
The playing field is much more uneven among county teams for
the upcoming season than it has ever been.
The success of the Tipperary and Dublin inter-county teams over the past
two seasons is testament to this fact.
The Premier County’s GAA successes in 2010, culminating in an
All-Ireland Hurling title, came at a cost of €1.2m. Dublin’s successful 2011 for its many teams
came at an even higher cost of €1.75m.
Of course, counties such as these are also much more capable
of generating enough revenue to balance the books, than other counties who have
a much smaller fan base.
It will be a difficult task for the GAA to kerb this
extravagant spending in the future as it will result in a decline in the
standard of play. It is a natural
progression for a sport to become more professional in its training methods,
fitness levels, and the standard of play it produces on the field. Sports such as soccer, rugby and tennis have
taken huge steps forward with regard to all headings listed above.
The enduring popularity of College American Football in the
United States could offer some solutions as to how to maintain the GAA’s
amateur ethos without a resultant decline in the standard of the sport. The athletes who play American Football at
this level are doing so for no financial reward despite playing in front of
crowds on a weekly basis which often reaches the 100,000 mark. That is without mentioning the hours of media
coverage which surrounds the weekend’s big games. Like in the GAA the coaching staff is rewarded
financially for its efforts, albeit on a full time basis.
The reward which most of these players get for their
commitment to the sport is a scholarship to the college and the chance to
perform on a stage which could see them catapulted into the NFL to play
professionally.
All inter-county GAA players play because of their love for
the game and for their county. However,
when it comes to the stage that they must train four-five times a week with a
game on most weekends, nobody could begrudge these players being given a small
financial incentive considering the enjoyment they bring to the fans who watch
them on a weekly basis.
If any sports fan oblivious
to the GAA had the opportunity to watch an All-Ireland Final, they would be
astonished to discover that those performing on the pitch were not being paid,
despite the 82,000 people who gave away large sums to witness such an
incredible event.
We may have seen the first high profile casualty of the new
professional approach of GAA inter-county teams this year with the withdrawal
of Lar Corbett from the Tipperary Hurling panel, citing work commitments. Rumours have been spread of possible rifts in
the panel leading to his shock departure.
Is it so hard to believe that he may have to prioritise his livelihood
before the thrill of playing for his county. Players such as Corbett train most weeknights for county as well as club
for at least nine months of the year.
Often they must adjust their work schedule to suit sporting commitments,
something particularly difficult for Corbett whose pub would make most of its
business in the evenings he gives up to train.
That sort of adaptability may have been possible during ‘The Boom’, but
things are different now. At the end of
the day, hurling is just a game, work pays the bills.
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