Longford Leader columnist Mattie Fox: If GAA is to keep amateur status playing pitch needs to be levelled

There are some very highly qualified people employed by Croke Park, top class, and these are the people who steer the associations fortunes, good and bad, through every challenge that faces the mother ship.

The obviousness of the continuing shift towards professionalism is impossible to ignore, and some of us - this writer included - who believe that amateur status should be sacrosanct, who are very aware of the thinking of many counties, constantly refer to this.

I’m writing this on Friday, May 29. This morning we have articles in newspapers that quote Aidan O’Shea and Jack McCaffrey. Two of the GAA’s top stars, playing at the plateau. The top.

Each gives their own version of what they think should happen in terms of professionalism. Yet each, ironically have a different view, if read carefully.

Naturally top teams don’t want anyone interfering with their available funding, every year.

However, if the GAA is to continue as an amateur organisation, something must be done, led by Croke Park, in terms of a level playing pitch.

This calls for very radical change, in harsh money terms. It also calls for a cap on spending by inter-county sides. Money would have to be rationed with fairness at the core.

Match days in Croke Park, to take an example, would change. Excessive alcohol consumption would be discouraged for a start. At present, the amount of alcohol consumed by some spectators attending games at headquarters, is stunning.

Croke Park lends its fantastic arena to alcohol consumption, as one of the areas of extra income.

Blurred by the commercial reality, a semi-blind eye can be turned to what’s going on.

One would have to be exceedingly blind to the reminders on every screen around the Premium area announcing that the bars will be open for an hour after the last game finishes.

Croke Park is not alone in causing this. It needs delegates to speak out and give voice to the madness of it all.

Croke Park could allow people to stay on but winding down bar service.
Unless, of course, that nobody wants Croke Park to behave in any other way. Maybe the majority who attend games want it to remain the very same. If that be so, so be it.

But this one aspect mirrors the steady erosion of amateurism.

The GAA becomes further tilted towards reaping more money, which in effect means that the top teams get more and more to spend.

It’s always possible that my voice and views expressed in this column do not reflect the reality on the ground.

Maybe I’m out of touch.

In which case that brings us all back to the top, where I really believe that the ‘amateurism’ will soon belong to clubs alone.