Amateurism

[Baile Brigín 2]

< GPA rep has entered the chat >

Whats this pay for play you speak of?

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2025/02/12/gaelic-players-associations-support-of-amateur-status-cannot-be-guaranteed-parsons-warns/

The only thing amateur about the GAA is its inability to put special interest groups in their place

Jarlath reckons integration will cost £500 million

Its sexy to talk in multiples of hundreds of millions and billions, its all over the news and medja these days, want to be careful we don't miss out right?

Here we go. The GPA have commissioned a report that states the bleeding obvious and it is with government. The taxpayer grants, which were a very hard sell outside the GAA, are suddenly not enough.

That intellectual flip flop that they are amateur because it's a grant, not a payment, is back and they want it increased. I was right, last week's 'article' was a kite followed immediately by a GPA consultants report.

[JoG2]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2025/0829/1530876-the-20-000-question-we-ask-should-managers-be-paid/

A strange article. It works on the basis there are no payments and then pitches semi professionalism. So Croke Park are flying this kite now.

There's some moron footballers about who love to talk. That idiot there give the example of All Ireland final day as an example of how much money the GAA makes and offers it as some sort of justification for paying managers.

"82,000 people at 100euro a ticket. And that's just 2 days" says he. As if the GAA is selling out Croke Park 300 times a year and not telling any of us about it. Such a gobshite.

But all that will happen here is managers will get €20k *and* the under the table stuff.

Exactly.

How anybody could argue that managers make more of a sacrifice than players is beyond my comprehension. If we start paying managers we almost certainly have to pay players shortly after.

Mad Ted!

[JoG2]

What came first, management getting paid or the higher level of committment?

If the sacrifice is too high it should be reduced, I suspect that ship has sailed though.

The further away from amateur status the Gaa moves the cost will be paid by club members and players, simple things like less money to subsidy then insurance/cost recovery fund, less central coaching, less grants for facilities.

A quick Look at social media shows clubs are already wall to wall fund raising - the only place left to squeeze is mandatory higher membership fee's and that really does cut at the heart of Gaa accessibility and availability for all.

Clubs would be far better getting an inside man if at all possible to take the senior team (unpaid) and using the thousands saved each year to invest in better pitch/gym/lights facilities even down to basic equipment for underage which would stand them better in the future. Most of the time the clubs paying the manager could bring in Jim Gavin and still have 0 hope of winning a championship.

I know I give a fair bit every year between membership and lotto and various sponsorship and fundraisers and I know where I prefer my money to go. 

What clubs are paying manager's from their own pot? Can't be too many surely?

[Armagh18]

What came first, management getting paid or the higher level of committment?

If the sacrifice is too high it should be reduced, I suspect that ship has sailed though.

The further away from amateur status the Gaa moves the cost will be paid by club members and players, simple things like less money to subsidy then insurance/cost recovery fund, less central coaching, less grants for facilities.

A quick Look at social media shows clubs are already wall to wall fund raising - the only place left to squeeze is mandatory higher membership fee's and that really does cut at the heart of Gaa accessibility and availability for all.

Clubs would be far better getting an inside man if at all possible to take the senior team (unpaid) and using the thousands saved each year to invest in better pitch/gym/lights facilities even down to basic equipment for underage which would stand them better in the future. Most of the time the clubs paying the manager could bring in Jim Gavin and still have 0 hope of winning a championship.

I know I give a fair bit every year between membership and lotto and various sponsorship and fundraisers and I know where I prefer my money to go. 

What clubs are paying manager's from their own pot? Can't be too many surely?

Well the money is coming from somewhere. Whoever is stumping it up surely could put it to better use within the club than give it to some mercenary manager.

[JoG2]

What came first, management getting paid or the higher level of committment?

If the sacrifice is too high it should be reduced, I suspect that ship has sailed though.

The further away from amateur status the Gaa moves the cost will be paid by club members and players, simple things like less money to subsidy then insurance/cost recovery fund, less central coaching, less grants for facilities.

A quick Look at social media shows clubs are already wall to wall fund raising - the only place left to squeeze is mandatory higher membership fee's and that really does cut at the heart of Gaa accessibility and availability for all.

Clubs would be far better getting an inside man if at all possible to take the senior team (unpaid) and using the thousands saved each year to invest in better pitch/gym/lights facilities even down to basic equipment for underage which would stand them better in the future. Most of the time the clubs paying the manager could bring in Jim Gavin and still have 0 hope of winning a championship.

I know I give a fair bit every year between membership and lotto and various sponsorship and fundraisers and I know where I prefer my money to go. 

What clubs are paying manager's from their own pot? Can't be too many surely?

Well the money is coming from somewhere. Whoever is stumping it up surely could put it to better use within the club than give it to some mercenary manager.

Yes, benefactors will be local businesses with attachments to the club. How they spend their money is their business.
In all my years I know of 1 club who directly handed over the brown envelope, and that was / is a junior club.
It takes a huge amount of money to run a club, not too many committee meetings signing off x amount of thousands away from their coffers directly to a mercenary manager I wouldn't have thought

[tiempo]

< GPA rep has entered the chat >

Whats this pay for play you speak of?

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2025/02/12/gaelic-players-associations-support-of-amateur-status-cannot-be-guaranteed-parsons-warns/

The only thing amateur about the GAA is its inability to put special interest groups in their place

Jarlath reckons integration will cost £500 million

Its sexy to talk in multiples of hundreds of millions and billions, its all over the news and medja these days, want to be careful we don't miss out right?

Here we go. The GPA have commissioned a report that states the bleeding obvious and it is with government. The taxpayer grants, which were a very hard sell outside the GAA, are suddenly not enough.

That intellectual flip flop that they are amateur because it's a grant, not a payment, is back and they want it increased. I was right, last week's 'article' was a kite followed immediately by a GPA consultants report.

Uncle Tom heads an organisation whose constitution includes a clause stating their commitment to maintaining and protecting the amateur status of Gaelic games, then states that position can't be guaranteed

2 options for Tom

- exit stage left so the GPA can appoint a CEO who will uphold the GPA constitution

- or way and organise your own pro-Gaelic league, in your own grounds, with your own competitions, your own marketing, your own TV deal, your own groundmen, your own cups medals and so on, you know like the union-league split in rugby

I'll say it again the GAA is ineffective at dealing with mutiny from within

[Baile Brigín 2]

< GPA rep has entered the chat >

Whats this pay for play you speak of?

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2025/02/12/gaelic-players-associations-support-of-amateur-status-cannot-be-guaranteed-parsons-warns/

The only thing amateur about the GAA is its inability to put special interest groups in their place

Jarlath reckons integration will cost £500 million

Its sexy to talk in multiples of hundreds of millions and billions, its all over the news and medja these days, want to be careful we don't miss out right?

Here we go. The GPA have commissioned a report that states the bleeding obvious and it is with government. The taxpayer grants, which were a very hard sell outside the GAA, are suddenly not enough.

That intellectual flip flop that they are amateur because it's a grant, not a payment, is back and they want it increased. I was right, last week's 'article' was a kite followed immediately by a GPA consultants report.

Uncle Tom heads an organisation whose constitution includes a clause stating their commitment to maintaining and protecting the amateur status of Gaelic games, then states that position can't be guaranteed

2 options for Tom

- exit stage left so the GPA can appoint a CEO who will uphold the GPA constitution

- or way and organise your own pro-Gaelic league, in your own grounds, with your own competitions, your own marketing, your own TV deal, your own groundmen, your own cups medals and so on, you know like the union-league split in rugby

I'll say it again the GAA is ineffective at dealing with mutiny from within

Agreed.

Once those grants came in it was a matter of time. The plan appears to be to increase the grants to semi pro levels. Then a few years later try for a living wage. Then a full time wage.

Obviously this requires the government to play ball, but the concept that so long as the GAA don't write the cheque it's not a payment was dodgy then and is dangerous now.

[JoG2]

< GPA rep has entered the chat >

Whats this pay for play you speak of?

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/2025/02/12/gaelic-players-associations-support-of-amateur-status-cannot-be-guaranteed-parsons-warns/

The only thing amateur about the GAA is its inability to put special interest groups in their place

Jarlath reckons integration will cost £500 million

Its sexy to talk in multiples of hundreds of millions and billions, its all over the news and medja these days, want to be careful we don't miss out right?

Here we go. The GPA have commissioned a report that states the bleeding obvious and it is with government. The taxpayer grants, which were a very hard sell outside the GAA, are suddenly not enough.

That intellectual flip flop that they are amateur because it's a grant, not a payment, is back and they want it increased. I was right, last week's 'article' was a kite followed immediately by a GPA consultants report.

Uncle Tom heads an organisation whose constitution includes a clause stating their commitment to maintaining and protecting the amateur status of Gaelic games, then states that position can't be guaranteed

2 options for Tom

- exit stage left so the GPA can appoint a CEO who will uphold the GPA constitution

- or way and organise your own pro-Gaelic league, in your own grounds, with your own competitions, your own marketing, your own TV deal, your own groundmen, your own cups medals and so on, you know like the union-league split in rugby

I'll say it again the GAA is ineffective at dealing with mutiny from within

Agreed.

Once those grants came in it was a matter of time. The plan appears to be to increase the grants to semi pro levels. Then a few years later try for a living wage. Then a full time wage.

Obviously this requires the government to play ball, but the concept that so long as the GAA don't write the cheque it's not a payment was dodgy then and is dangerous now.

What plan?
And who will avail of the semi pro / living / full time wage?

[tiempo]

The GPA plan to squeeze the government and Croke for more dough and step away from amateur status
Players to avail of course, the £500m integration package isn't getting spilt down the back of the sofa its going into back accounts

Tax dollars paying to coalesce something that works perfectly fine and is greater than the sums of its parts in its current form, its a tour de force of collaboration and co-operation, soon as you integrate its going to become a bureaucratic nightmare with a side of 'quotas' and resentment

[Rossfan]

Tiempo, go out and take a walk.
You'll feel better then.

[JoG2]

The GPA plan to squeeze the government and Croke for more dough and step away from amateur status
Players to avail of course, the £500m integration package isn't getting spilt down the back of the sofa its going into back accounts

Tax dollars paying to coalesce something that works perfectly fine and is greater than the sums of its parts in its current form, its a tour de force of collaboration and co-operation, soon as you integrate its going to become a bureaucratic nightmare with a side of 'quotas' and resentment

The GAA will never step away from its amateur ethos, well as regards paying county players a wage. The brown envelopes for managers, jobs for players, mileage etc will continue as is.
The cloak and dagger GPA should have been put out to pasture a decade ago.

[Baile Brigín 2]

The GPA plan to squeeze the government and Croke for more dough and step away from amateur status
Players to avail of course, the £500m integration package isn't getting spilt down the back of the sofa its going into back accounts

Tax dollars paying to coalesce something that works perfectly fine and is greater than the sums of its parts in its current form, its a tour de force of collaboration and co-operation, soon as you integrate its going to become a bureaucratic nightmare with a side of 'quotas' and resentment

The GAA will never step away from its amateur ethos, well as regards paying county players a wage. The brown envelopes for managers, jobs for players, mileage etc will continue as is.
The cloak and dagger GPA should have been put out to pasture a decade ago.

County players are getting paid.

[trileacman]

https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2025/0829/1530876-the-20-000-question-we-ask-should-managers-be-paid/

A strange article. It works on the basis there are no payments and then pitches semi professionalism. So Croke Park are flying this kite now.

There's some moron footballers about who love to talk. That idiot there give the example of All Ireland final day as an example of how much money the GAA makes and offers it as some sort of justification for paying managers.

"82,000 people at 100euro a ticket. And that's just 2 days" says he. As if the GAA is selling out Croke Park 300 times a year and not telling any of us about it. Such a gobshite.

But all that will happen here is managers will get €20k *and* the under the table stuff.

Exactly.

How anybody could argue that managers make more of a sacrifice than players is beyond my comprehension. If we start paying managers we almost certainly have to pay players shortly after.

Experience in intercounty management?

The player looks after one person, himself, his sacrifice is to ensure he's fit and skilled and ready for playing. He goes home and that is his job.

The manager is looking after 30 squad players, his own team, the media, arranging challenge games, prep for match day, dealing with players problems/injuries/form. He's also dealing with the online crap too

I'm not sure its how its beyond comprehension that a manager is doing the same as a player in regards to sacrifice..

The manager is there every day, as much as the player, and then some

So you think managers are making more of a sacrifice than players?

"Dealing with online crap" - players have to do that too in some cases to a much greater extreme than managers - look at Rian O'Neil or Kyle Hayes.

"Dealing with the media" - come on, a few post match interviews and if they want they can do a mid-season article with some broadsheet. Players also have media interviews to do. Any manager who's scouring the papers to see what's being said about him or the team is an idiot.

"Dealing with injuries" - I'd rather be on the one dealing with a broken jaw, concussion or ruptured ACL than the one receiving those injuries. The players are putting their bodies on the line, quite frequently receiving painful injuries than interfere with their work commitments and home commitments.

As for the going home comment, a manager goes home and can eat as much shite as he wants, drink like a fish if he wants and stay up all night if he wants, none of which will affect his performance as a manager. Players entire lifestyle is dedicated to their role as inter county players.

I'm not saying managers have it easy, they have a lot of thinking to do but without any doubt in my mind the intercounty players make more sacrifices than intercounty managers.

[JoG2]

The GPA plan to squeeze the government and Croke for more dough and step away from amateur status
Players to avail of course, the £500m integration package isn't getting spilt down the back of the sofa its going into back accounts

Tax dollars paying to coalesce something that works perfectly fine and is greater than the sums of its parts in its current form, its a tour de force of collaboration and co-operation, soon as you integrate its going to become a bureaucratic nightmare with a side of 'quotas' and resentment

The GAA will never step away from its amateur ethos, well as regards paying county players a wage. The brown envelopes for managers, jobs for players, mileage etc will continue as is.
The cloak and dagger GPA should have been put out to pasture a decade ago.

County players are getting paid.

Explain how they get paid..? They do not and will never get a 'wage'

[Baile Brigín 2]

The GPA plan to squeeze the government and Croke for more dough and step away from amateur status
Players to avail of course, the £500m integration package isn't getting spilt down the back of the sofa its going into back accounts

Tax dollars paying to coalesce something that works perfectly fine and is greater than the sums of its parts in its current form, its a tour de force of collaboration and co-operation, soon as you integrate its going to become a bureaucratic nightmare with a side of 'quotas' and resentment

The GAA will never step away from its amateur ethos, well as regards paying county players a wage. The brown envelopes for managers, jobs for players, mileage etc will continue as is.
The cloak and dagger GPA should have been put out to pasture a decade ago.

County players are getting paid.

Explain how they get paid..? They do not and will never get a 'wage'

The grants. Which the GPA are lobbying to increase. Is this news?