A chara, - The demands made of inter-county players in the GAA today are huge. I played for the Antrim senior hurling team from 1991 until 1997 and struggled to find the time away from my job for two-hour training sessions three or four times a week. Others made greater sacrifices with a significant loss of earnings from shifts they could not work, inadequate travel expenses and the high costs of playing equipment. Even in the few years since I finished playing, the level of commitment needed to play at inter-county level has risen sharply.
The Gaelic Player's Association is correct to highlight these issues and their effects on players' families. To be fair, however, they didn't receive much argument from the GAA establishment. The GAA player's committee is currently working towards addressing all of these issues along with the policy on providing match tickets to players and an official scheme which allows players to see substantial benefits from commercial sponsorship. In fact, the GPA itself admits that the GAA establishment is moving in the right direction; so why is there a need for confrontation? By looking at how the GAA is adapting its own structures to meet the changing needs of intercounty players, the GPA's agenda can be seen for what it is: an attempt to shift the focus for the control of funds (and consequently the exercise of power) away from the GAA establishment and towards key players. This will inevitably lead to the formation of an elite group within the GAA as those with the most attractive profiles for corporate sponsors will exert a greater influence than others.
We do not need to look far to see the dangers of a power shift away from sports administrators and towards players. If the GPA agenda is followed to its logical conclusion, how long will it be before the GAA has its own Pierre van Hooijdonk? - Is mise,
John Hamill, Eastmoreland Court, Dublin 4.