Centralised Fund for Team Expenses?

[INDIANA]

Socialism works in American professional sports.
The weakest teams get to pick the best young players.

Centralised funding of county teams would ensure a fairer level of funding. Plus county boards would be able to budget much better and not worry about costs for an extended championship run.

Counties would be free to spend more if they wanted, but this would be totally up to them to fundraise. And the spending of that money would be audited

I like the idea personally. It would restore the Association to what it's supposed to be.

An amateur organisation.

GAA is at a juncture at top level. It goes either professional or they take control of it.

[muppet]

Socialism works in American professional sports.
The weakest teams get to pick the best young players.

Centralised funding of county teams would ensure a fairer level of funding. Plus county boards would be able to budget much better and not worry about costs for an extended championship run.

Counties would be free to spend more if they wanted, but this would be totally up to them to fundraise. And the spending of that money would be audited

That is one rule regarding rookie players. It is a long way from centralised funds which you are proposing.

As for the rest, the idea has some merit but would you not end up pretty much where we are anyway (with the reasonable exception of the auditing of spending)? The same teams would still have much more money than the poorer ones.

[Syferus]

Socialism works in American professional sports.
The weakest teams get to pick the best young players.

Centralised funding of county teams would ensure a fairer level of funding. Plus county boards would be able to budget much better and not worry about costs for an extended championship run.

Counties would be free to spend more if they wanted, but this would be totally up to them to fundraise. And the spending of that money would be audited

That is one rule regarding rookie players. It is a long way from centralised funds which you are proposing.

As for the rest, the idea has some merit but would you not end up pretty much where we are anyway (with the reasonable exception of the auditing of spending)? The same teams would still have much more money than the poorer ones.

The NFL splits tv revenue equally between all teams, small market and big market ones. NFL socialism extends far beyond a draft and anything proposed here is no where near the (smartly, for the sport) forced parity in the NFL.

[magpie seanie]

Socialism works in American professional sports.
The weakest teams get to pick the best young players.

Centralised funding of county teams would ensure a fairer level of funding. Plus county boards would be able to budget much better and not worry about costs for an extended championship run.

Counties would be free to spend more if they wanted, but this would be totally up to them to fundraise. And the spending of that money would be audited

I like the idea personally. It would restore the Association to what it's supposed to be.

An amateur organisation.

GAA is at a juncture at top level. It goes either professional or they take control of it.

You are 100% correct Indiana but in all honesty and as much as I hate saying it, I think things have gone too far to go back to what it's supposed to be. Top level gaelic football and hurling will evolve to 10-14 regional teams that are pro or semi-pro and these players will not play with their clubs at all. I don't want that to happen but I think it is unavoidable with the money in the game and the fact that intercounty players are being asked for ridiculous commitment levels when you consider most have no realistic chance of winning anything.

There isn't the will at the higher levels of the GAA to bring the association back into line with what it's supposed to be so this twin track approach (for want of a better phrase) is probably the best we can hope for. At least it would allow club fixtures to go ahead in peace at the best times of the year.

[Lone Shark]

I have to say that I think there's a lot of merit in an idea like this, provided it is done in conjunction with proper policing.

I don't think we can ever have a situation in the GAA where the Leitrim County Board and the Dublin County board spend the same amount of money each year, and nor should we. Dublin have a lot of GAA members and players to look after, so naturally they need to spend more, while we also should continue to incentivise counties to do their best when it comes to domestic fundraising.

However there has to be some way of ensuring that when it comes to team expenses, there aren't any huge advantages given to a handful of teams before they even take the field. Neither do I think that we should simply shrug our shoulders and say that things are "unworkable" and leave it at that.

Personally, what I'd like to see is for the GAA top brass to sit down with the GPA and the county boards and to determine what is the right amount that should be spent on an intercounty team session, or match - and then centralise all those expenses. Determine the mileage rate for players and management, determine what paid professionals should be at each session (Physios, Doctors, Masseurs etc), the cost of food and fluids, and take all of the financing of these things away from the county boards.

As was stated above, finance them out of league or championship payments that would have gone to county boards from the GAA, or from central funds with a corresponding decrease in some other allocation down the line.

Then, if a county board like Dublin or whoever wants to spend €30,000 on bringing on board a professional sports psychologist, or dietitian or indeed any other professional above and beyond this, they should be free to do so, subject to paying a "luxury tax" that goes back into the general pot. If Lone Shark is hired as some sort of guru by the Dubs and gets €30k, then I still draw the money from the central fund but Dublin have to agree to pour €60k in (for example), not €30k. That would in time become a leveling influence.

However this could only work if it was done in conjunction with real and meaningful audit of county board finances to ensure that there are no top ups or anything else being issued to restore previously held advantages. Announce in advance that from the start of 2016 (for example) all payments from county boards must be fully audited, and any proven payments to management, players or professionals in contravention of these rules should be severely punished, up to and including the suspension of the team in question from intercounty competition for full league or championship campaigns. There has been a real blind eye turned to this stuff before now, just like there was a blind eye turned to drink driving in this country for years. If the will to change is there, change will happen.

[Syferus]

The purpose of the idea would be defeated if a CB could come along and dump a load of money by getting a specialist outside the (theoretical) cap. That's exactly the sort of financial doping that's warping the very concepts of amateurism and competitiveness. Allowing a CB to do it by giving money back to everyone else still leaves them with an unfair advantage - much simpler and much more effective to cut that out at the source by forcing all optional expenses to be judged against the (theoretical) cap.

It's full duck or no dinner, as Willie H would say.

[manfromdelmonte]

I have to say that I think there's a lot of merit in an idea like this, provided it is done in conjunction with proper policing.

I don't think we can ever have a situation in the GAA where the Leitrim County Board and the Dublin County board spend the same amount of money each year, and nor should we. Dublin have a lot of GAA members and players to look after, so naturally they need to spend more, while we also should continue to incentivise counties to do their best when it comes to domestic fundraising.

However there has to be some way of ensuring that when it comes to team expenses, there aren't any huge advantages given to a handful of teams before they even take the field. Neither do I think that we should simply shrug our shoulders and say that things are "unworkable" and leave it at that.

Personally, what I'd like to see is for the GAA top brass to sit down with the GPA and the county boards and to determine what is the right amount that should be spent on an intercounty team session, or match - and then centralise all those expenses. Determine the mileage rate for players and management, determine what paid professionals should be at each session (Physios, Doctors, Masseurs etc), the cost of food and fluids, and take all of the financing of these things away from the county boards.

As was stated above, finance them out of league or championship payments that would have gone to county boards from the GAA, or from central funds with a corresponding decrease in some other allocation down the line.

Then, if a county board like Dublin or whoever wants to spend €30,000 on bringing on board a professional sports psychologist, or dietitian or indeed any other professional above and beyond this, they should be free to do so, subject to paying a "luxury tax" that goes back into the general pot. If Lone Shark is hired as some sort of guru by the Dubs and gets €30k, then I still draw the money from the central fund but Dublin have to agree to pour €60k in (for example), not €30k. That would in time become a leveling influence.

However this could only work if it was done in conjunction with real and meaningful audit of county board finances to ensure that there are no top ups or anything else being issued to restore previously held advantages. Announce in advance that from the start of 2016 (for example) all payments from county boards must be fully audited, and any proven payments to management, players or professionals in contravention of these rules should be severely punished, up to and including the suspension of the team in question from intercounty competition for full league or championship campaigns. There has been a real blind eye turned to this stuff before now, just like there was a blind eye turned to drink driving in this country for years. If the will to change is there, change will happen.

I would like to see a breakdown of the county team expenses for each county.
that would be interesting

There are certainly a lot of fellas earning money off the GAA for various roles on county management backroom teams.
while in some counties lads might be doing it voluntarily, as either the county board has no money or they've a much smaller backroom team

[heffo]

I have to say that I think there's a lot of merit in an idea like this, provided it is done in conjunction with proper policing.

I don't think we can ever have a situation in the GAA where the Leitrim County Board and the Dublin County board spend the same amount of money each year, and nor should we. Dublin have a lot of GAA members and players to look after, so naturally they need to spend more, while we also should continue to incentivise counties to do their best when it comes to domestic fundraising.

However there has to be some way of ensuring that when it comes to team expenses, there aren't any huge advantages given to a handful of teams before they even take the field. Neither do I think that we should simply shrug our shoulders and say that things are "unworkable" and leave it at that.

Personally, what I'd like to see is for the GAA top brass to sit down with the GPA and the county boards and to determine what is the right amount that should be spent on an intercounty team session, or match - and then centralise all those expenses. Determine the mileage rate for players and management, determine what paid professionals should be at each session (Physios, Doctors, Masseurs etc), the cost of food and fluids, and take all of the financing of these things away from the county boards.

As was stated above, finance them out of league or championship payments that would have gone to county boards from the GAA, or from central funds with a corresponding decrease in some other allocation down the line.

Then, if a county board like Dublin or whoever wants to spend €30,000 on bringing on board a professional sports psychologist, or dietitian or indeed any other professional above and beyond this, they should be free to do so, subject to paying a "luxury tax" that goes back into the general pot. If Lone Shark is hired as some sort of guru by the Dubs and gets €30k, then I still draw the money from the central fund but Dublin have to agree to pour €60k in (for example), not €30k. That would in time become a leveling influence.

However this could only work if it was done in conjunction with real and meaningful audit of county board finances to ensure that there are no top ups or anything else being issued to restore previously held advantages. Announce in advance that from the start of 2016 (for example) all payments from county boards must be fully audited, and any proven payments to management, players or professionals in contravention of these rules should be severely punished, up to and including the suspension of the team in question from intercounty competition for full league or championship campaigns. There has been a real blind eye turned to this stuff before now, just like there was a blind eye turned to drink driving in this country for years. If the will to change is there, change will happen.

I would like to see a breakdown of the county team expenses for each county.
that would be interesting

There are certainly a lot of fellas earning money off the GAA for various roles on county management backroom teams.
while in some counties lads might be doing it voluntarily, as either the county board has no money or they've a much smaller backroom team

And then I'd like to see the actual expenses. Some leading counties take up to 15 weekends away and then foreign training camps through Sinn Fein esque foreign fundraising. Will these totals be included?

[Dont Matter]

  It's funny seeing some Dubs here have the cheek to question other teams expenses. It'd be like Fianna Fáil having a go at the Blueshirts over corruption.

I've been saying for years that Dubl$n will ruin Gaelic Games as we know it. With the millions that's been pumped into developing their players it's been made it impossible for most counties to compete. Some counties have found a short term solution, they've spent huge sums on their senior teams. They wont be able to do this forever and it means that counties with very little money are miles behind those that do.
Dubl$n have killed the Leinster football championship, it's dead. They will destroy the rest of the football championship if they're let continue and eventually the hurling championship too. I've also said in the past that funding should be divided fairly amongst every county so all teams have an equal opportunity to compete. For Dubl$n it's too late, the millions they've received for a decade has left them too far ahead. They're competing as professionals and they're dragging our great amateur sport with them.
We have to take Dubl$n down to save our games.

[heffo]

It's funny seeing some Dubs here have the cheek to question other teams expenses. It'd be like Fianna Fáil having a go at the Blueshirts over corruption.

I've been saying for years that Dubl$n will ruin Gaelic Games as we know it. With the millions that's been pumped into developing their players it's been made it impossible for most counties to compete. Some counties have found a short term solution, they've spent huge sums on their senior teams. They wont be able to do this forever and it means that counties with very little money are miles behind those that do.
Dubl$n have killed the Leinster football championship, it's dead. They will destroy the rest of the football championship if they're let continue and eventually the hurling championship too. I've also said in the past that funding should be divided fairly amongst every county so all teams have an equal opportunity to compete. For Dubl$n it's too late, the millions they've received for a decade has left them too far ahead. They're competing as professionals and they're dragging our great amateur sport with them.
We have to take Dubl$n down to save our games.

Item #1 on the agenda will be recuperating all the money Laois pissed away on outside managers over the last decade so this can be redistributed to other counties.

[Dont Matter]

[The Aristocrat]

Don't matter is alive and well, good to know. 1st post of the year on Dublin, only another 1576 to go before 2016 on Dublin.

Don't let him keep ruining threads Mods by being a WUM. The topic of Dublin games development finances have been well documented at this stage and he really needs to contact Croke park and or Leinster council.   

On the topic itself, I would like to see Dublin's expenses since 2011 to 2014 beside Donegal's in Football and/or Kerry and Mayo's. Can anyone provide this or is everyone just going on estimations, hearsay, rumours, how many helicopters they see hovering over Donegal in the summer, etc. If we are then I would say Donegal have spent the most since 2011.

[Dont Matter]

This thread is entitled 'Centralised Fund for Team Expenses?' The county with the highest level of team expenses is Dubl$n. The Dubl$n controlled media keep silent on the issue, we don't have to do likewise here or anywhere else.

If you got to see the financial accounts from the Dubl$n county board then you'd see that they've spent more than Donegal, Mayo and Kerry combined since 2011.
The Dubs are up in arms now that they got beaten out the gate by Donegal, they were happy when it was only them with the money to buy All Ireland's. Well what did they and everyone else expect? The only way to compete against a team with huge resources is to pump huge resources into your own team. Obviously it's no coincidence that the 4 All Ireland semi finalists in football all had big money behind them. If this is allowed to continue then our sport as we know it will be destroyed. It's as simple as that.
Turkey's don't vote for Christmas so it's up to the rest of us to save our games.

[heffo]

This thread is entitled 'Centralised Fund for Team Expenses?' If you got to see the financial accounts from the Dubl$n county board then you'd see that they've spent more than Donegal, Mayo and Kerry combined since 2011.

Can you post some figures along with sources for those two claims please as both are nonsense.

[heffo]

What does the above (unsourced) graphic have to do with the Dublin Senior Footballers or Hurlers?