Despite the GAA benefitting from around €50 million in Government funding during the two years of the Covid pandemic, the association is reporting a two-year deficit of €25.2 million for 2020 and ‘21.
State supports include direct subvention of €29 million for last year, €18 million for 2020 plus the Government wage subsidy scheme, which the association availed of during the period.
Accounts show an operating surplus for last year of €47 million, which after distributions to various units and in development grants left a net surplus of €1.9 million.
The figures were released when the association launched its annual reports in Croke Park on Thursday morning.
There was a consensus view that 2021 had been a better year than 2020 and this was reflected in the finances, which showed an improvement on the €27 million deficit from last year.
“The GAA prides itself on its self-sufficiency,” according to GAA DG, Tom Ryan in his annual report. “That is true at all levels of the organisation, from Club to Central Council.
“So, to find ourselves dependent upon external assistance was both unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The financial supports offered to the GAA were the lifeline that kept us stable and secure and were greatly needed and appreciated.”
Both gate receipts and commercial revenue were significantly up on last year although finance director Ger Mulryan cautioned that the unusual occurrence of two All-Ireland championships in the one financial year had distorted the overall picture.
The GAA’s accounting year ended a month early, in September 2021, in order to facilitate county boards shifting their financial year.
It meant that the gate receipts for 2020 included only the in initial weeks of the national leagues, which were completed before the first lockdown in March that year.
All of that year’s championship fixtures were behind closed doors, including the All-Ireland finals but commercial and media income was earned, as the matches were broadcast live on television, and that income was up €17.5 million from €9 million in 2020.
The position at all levels - the published annual accounts report on Croke Park and Central Council - including provincial councils and county boards, showed a combined surplus of €13.5 million, as compared to a combined deficit of €34 million in 2020.
In his report, Ryan warned that the association in future may have to adapt to smaller revenues.
“Before the turmoil of the last two years, we were at the tail end of a cycle of successive revenue growth. Indications are that any future revenue growth will be far more modest. In global terms we are a small organisation with a small potential market - be that for commercial partnership or spectator revenue.
“It could even be argued that before concerning ourselves with new directions we need to reassess our funding priorities and make sure that they are aligned with our current strategies.
“For example, we repeatedly cite participation as the cornerstone of our ambitions. If we conclude that clubs are the means by which we can achieve this, then we need to resource accordingly.
“That means increasing substantially the proportion of our gross revenue that we apply directly to clubs. I think this is a worthy target. It will have to come at a cost to some other area of expenditure but if we believe it’s valid, then those hard choices have to be made.”
