Official in Laois GAA tells clubs there is 'a war coming' with other sports over players
A Laois GAA County Board official has told clubs at a county board meeting to "prepare for war" against other sports.
Ahead of underage soccer changing from winter to summer seasons, Kieran Leavy says "battle lines" must be drawn to stop young players from choosing other sports over gaelic games.
The assistant treasurer of Laois GAA also believes that if a young player opts to play soccer then "my opinion is... you tell him you don't want him any more."
Mr Leavy was talking about the population of the county rising from 50,000 a few years ago to around 84,000 at the moment, with the town of Portarlington being one of the fastest growing towns in the country.
Speaking about the impact the population boom is having on Gaelic Games, he claimed that the local GAA club had not benefitted from it, in fact he said it "has had a detrimental effect on our town".
The Leinster Express reports that Mr Leavy went on to say: "Lads might not agree with me, but we have to draw a line somewhere. There is a war coming, and if we don't draw down some battle lines we are going to lose players.
"Young players are told in soccer and rugby that they will be picked for Midlands or Leinster teams and it sounds great, but they are being forgotten about. The only ones looking after them are the GAA, no one can look after them as good as us."
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