Semi-professionalism in the inter-county sphere of the GAA. Could that ever be a runner in the future? Hopefully not, but then stranger things have happened, writes Peter McNamara.
If you said to somebody 10 years ago that Donald Trump would be in a head-to-head duel with Hillary Clinton for the US Presidency you would have probably laughed them out the gate too.
The world is a mad place right now so what will it be like in another 10 years? The reality is anything is possible.
The GAA’s latest deal with the GPA is another significant financial step for the latter organisation.
The GPA will now, of course, receive a further €4.2m per annum to bolster their coffers.
“I think it’s a good day for players, without doubt. It elevates the players’ status to a new level. There’s a lot of practical support contained within this and I think very important is the input into policy decisions that affect players, that will be widely welcomed,” said Dessie Farrell, GPA chief executive. “Then obviously the commercial link, the GAA’s commercial success will be linked to our programmes. It is a significant step forward and a milestone, so, all told, players will be very happy with this.
“We also think it’s significant for the GAA as well. It reflects the ongoing relationship that has been in place for the last number of years, which has given us a platform to build a partnership and work in tandem on issues that are important not just for the players but for the games themselves. Ultimately, it’s a win-win for everybody, we feel.”
Slowly but surely the GPA’s authority is growing within the Association, though.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
After all, players that dedicate so much of their time and energies to their county’s cause deserve to be treated as well as possible within the confines of amateurism.
However, are we at risk of it all going too far the other way leaving amateurism lost in translation?
All of the perks of being an inter-county player nowadays have never been so appealing to counter their incredible dedication and the well-documented sacrifices players make.
On a very basic grade I, for one, would dearly love to possess the talents, know-how, physique and opportunities to grace Croke Park on major occasions.
And at the other end of the ‘perks-scale’, players get personably lucrative sponsorship deals as well as being absolutely adored by all and sundry within their own areas and counties.
Are inter-county players really as short-changed nowadays as they once were? Not at all.
In fact, they have never been as well looked after. Rightly so in ways too as they are the ones that put bums on seats at the various stadia across the country.
Yet, where does it all end?
From the perspective of preparation and work-ethic these guys are as close to professionals as it gets.
But we’ve heard all of this before. What people are unwilling to discuss is where the inter-county game will be in a decade if it is as close to professionalism now as it gets!
People are voting with their feet too in terms of their satisfaction levels with the ‘win-at-all-costs’ mentality that exists at the top level presently. Or the ‘thou shalt not lose’ mentality more to the point.
As highlighted today, just 48,020 supporters combined showed up for the two Munster finals this year.
Granted, a Kerry-Cork decider in football would always generate higher gate receipts than Kerry-Tipperary but that combined figure was still down from 78,747 in 2015. A scary statistic.
Of course, if dwindling attendances become the norm in the next four to five years semi-professionalism would be absolutely out of the question in this 10-year spell we’re illustrating.
Nevertheless, by the time the annual attendances figures are recorded at the end of this year they are likely to balance themselves out and so such numbers may not be as concerning as they are right now.
Overall, though, the point is the GAA landscape is changing so much that discounting a shift towards semi-professionalism down the road would be both naïve and quite ignorant.
I really pray it never happens, for the record. But never rule anything out.
